Austin sees boom in biological, health industries From the cover
Two-minute impact
State of the industry As of July 2023, Austin’s life sciences industry includes:
compared to other life science-heavy economies, such as Denver, Houston and Boston. Despite this, Austin only has 5,800 hospital beds compared to Houston’s 21,000 beds and 1.6 million square feet of lab space compared to Boston’s 52.7 million square feet, according to a July 2023 report from Austin Next and Austin Medtech Connect. “Imagine what we could be doing if we had more people working in the industry, if we had more beds, more clinicians, more lab space,” Scharf said. “I think one of the biggest gaps is that we don’t quite have the physical infrastructure.”
The establishment of the Dell Medical School in 2013 marked the beginning of a “new life science era” in Austin, said Stacy Schmitt, senior vice president of communications and external affairs for economic initiative Opportunity Austin. According to the initiative, the region has over 260 life science companies, from pharmaceuticals and medical devices to information technology and research organizations. Jason Scharf, an investor providing capital to life science startups and founder of health and tech podcast Austin Next, said Austin “generally punches above its weight” in the industry
Over 18,000 employees
Over 260 companies
74% employment growth since 2019 Nearly
1.6M square feet of lab space
SOURCES: AUSTIN MEDTECH CONNECT, AUSTIN NEXT, NEWMARK/ COMMUNITY IMPACT
Austin's employment breakdown
In a nutshell
How we got here
10% Entertainment
Life sciences is an umbrella term used to describe many biological sciences, from the study of lab specimens to the treatment of patients, according to the Austin Next and Austin Medtech report. Some products of the industry include medical devices, such as cochlear implants, and the development of cures for different cancers. On the local scale, health and education services make up about 11% of the greater Austin economy, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The industry is one more opportunity for Austin to continue diversifying its economic portfolio to withstand economic hardships, said Bryce Bencivengo, director of public relations and media for the Austin Chamber of Commerce. While bigger names downtown such as Dell Medical School and the future University of Texas at Austin Medical Center—which will add a hospital and an MD Anderson Cancer Center— are at the forefront, the South Austin market in particular is home to dozens of life science companies like Celling Biosciences, according to Opportunity Austin. Sydney Pruitt, ACC Senior Media Relations Coor- dinator, said that the market has the advantage of having access to better engineers, sales represen- tatives and office staff, along with more markets to play into and hospitals and clinics to plan. “It’s good to know that a company like us is in your backyard,” Pruitt said. “I don’t see us leaving anytime soon … It just kind of goes to show that you’re not limited by where you practice; invest- ments in Austin and Texas in general are welcome and can work out for you one way or another.”
There are several indicators that point to whether an area is a good option to pursue life sciences, said Matt Schwab, managing direc- tor of Karlin Real Estate. Among those, Austin stands out in the relatively young age of the average working individual at 35.8 as well as its large supply of educational institutions. The abundance of local higher education facilities pave the way for a reliable workforce for life science companies, Schwab said.
11.5% Community services and education
11.6% Life sciences and health care
19.1% Office, business and financial operations
Local schools
19.8% Management and sales operations
Between UT, Austin Community College and the other area higher education facilities, there are:
28% Manufacturing, construction and farm-related jobs
About 8,800 science, technology, engineering and math graduates annually About 4,700 health care graduates annually
SOURCES: U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS, AUSTIN MEDTECH CONNECT, AUSTIN NEXT/COMMUNITY IMPACT
SOURCES: AUSTIN MEDTECH CONNECT, AUSTIN NEXT/COMMUNITY IMPACT
Area life science job options
Annual average wage
“Because of the growing ecosystem that we have with the educational institutions and the technology that’s already here, a lot of these tech companies [and] venture capital firms are very interested and want to invest in Austin startup companies that are here.” STACY SCHMITT, OPPORTUNITY AUSTIN SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, COMMUNICATIONS & EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
Bioengineers and biomedical engineers
$81,980
Clinical laboratory technologists and technicians
$56,900
$86,720
Registered nurses
Health care diagnosis or treating practitioners
$113,530
SOURCE: U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS/COMMUNITY IMPACT
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