The Last Word: UTSW’s Brad Phelan on the Rise of North Texas’ Biotech-Plus Ecosystem

“We are building it, and they are coming.”

Brad Phelan
Director of Technology Commercialization and Blackstone Launchpad
UT Southwestern
—on the North Texas “biotech-blus” ecosystem, during the Capital Factory Health Supernova event at Pegasus Park on Tuesday.

Brad Phelan knows we’re not in Iowa, and certainly not in a cornfield. And we’re not building a baseball field, either.

“But we are building a biotech plus ecosystem,” he said to a capacity crowd at this week’s Capital Factory Health Supernova event at Pegasus Park.

Like Kevin Costner’s character in the film “Field of Dreams,” we’re hearing a whisper in the fields of healthcare innovation, Phelan says: “If you build it, they will come.” However, instead of an ethereal baseball diamond, we’re witnessing the rise of a biotech revolution in the region.

“We’re building it, and they are coming,” Phelan said: “Entrepreneurs. Investors. Philanthropists. Innovators. Commercialization partners.”

Ours is not just any field, but a fertile ground for ground-breaking ideas that hold the promise of transforming lives. The Health Supernova conference at Dallas’ Pegasus Park gave the stage to innovators in Texas (and beyond) shaking up the status quo in biotech. From neurotechnology to mental health therapies, AI to robotics, the conference highlighted how these fields are intersecting and pushing boundaries.

We took a deep dive into the frontiers of brain-computer interfaces with Paradromics, explored the mind-bending potential of psychedelics as mental health treatments with 2A Biosciences, and got an up-close look at how 3D printing is revolutioning organ transplants with Lazarus 3D. And we saw how Diligent Robotics’ Moxi is reshaping healthcare automation.

Watch for in-depth coverage in the coming weeks, as Dallas Innovates reveals the discussions held by industry stalwarts, leading innovators, and local entrepreneurs who are collectively charting a new course in health technology.

For more of who said what about all things North Texas, check out Every Last Word.

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