Texas...home of Johnson Space Center, the NSBRI, good BBQ, and now, for the first time, the Medical Design & Manufacturing (MD&M) show. Last week, in Fort Worth, TX, local exhibitors demonstrated evidence of the Lone Star State as an important hotspot for medical device development.
One such exhibitor, the Research Valley Partnership (College Station, TX), works with industry and university partners to streamline the process of getting research innovations to market. The set-up of the "biocorridor" is founded upon an impressive array of interdisciplinary resources from Texas A&M University, ranging from the newly established National Center for Therapeutics Manufacturing, to the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. It claims to be the "Innovation Capital of Texas," and, based on its projects — which range from tobacco-plant-based flu vaccines to the world's fastest Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans — it may just be right.
Susan Vestal, VP of Corporate Relations at the Research Valley Partnership, pointed out an example of one spinoff company that has set its sights on solving a difficult problem: aneurysms. Dr. Duncan Maitland, associate professor in Texas A&M's Department of Biomedical Engineering, founded the start-up company, Shape Memory Therapeutics, in 2009. The company designed a shape memory polymer device for the treatment of cerebral aneurysms, born out of collaboration with Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Lawrence Livermore National Lab.
As illustrated in MDB's "Mission Accomplished" section each month, universities, NASA, and federal labs are the birthplace of many medical technologies on the market today. However, for every success story, how many stories of incomplete or failed attempts exist? It's no small challenge for innovators to brave the waters of successful commercialization and FDA approval, much less start and run a successful business. University incubators and organizations like the Research Valley Partnership are doing their part by helping new technologies reach market in a timely manner — good news for all who stand to benefit from more effective medical treatments.
