The Woodlands | January 2023

TOP STORY

Bringing research to Research Forest Among the companies moving their headquarters to The Woodlands or establishing oces there are two California life sciences companies as well as companies in other sectors.

Life sciences leading the charge As of early 2022, health care employed the most people in The Woodlands area, and life sciences made up 0.6% of jobs, but new companies are slated to move to the area in 2023.

National growth potential Among the life sciences, employment in elds such as biochemistry and biophysics are slated to grow more than other occupations in the next decade. Projected change in U.S. employment, 202131 : +5 % Total, all occupations: +11 % Life scientists: +15 % Biochemists and biophysicists:

Percent of major nonretail employees in The Woodlands area* *Major employers have 100 or more employees.

TECHNOLOGY FOREST PL.

30.4 %

Health Care

LAKESIDE BLVD.

NEW TRAILS DR.

18.8 %

Education

LAKE FRONT CIR.

Business and professional services

11.5 %

LAKE WOODLANDS DR. 1

8.1 %

Energy 7

LAKESIDE BLVD.

5 6 2 3

Life sciences, 0.6 % (Two companies among major nonre tail employers)

WOODLOCH FOREST DR.

0 %

5 %

10 %

15 %

20 %

25 %

30 %

35 %

LAKE FRONT CIR.

1. Cellipont Bioservices • 9501 Lakeside Blvd. • Life sciences • Technologies • Industry sector key:

LAKE WOODLANDS DR.

Chemical/pharmaceutical • Energy

CONTINUED FROM 1

Life sciences sector In an area that previously housed energy companies such as Anadarko, the energy sector has seen its share of local nonretail jobs among major employers drop from 27% to 8% since 2019. As of early 2022, health care made up more than 30%, according to information from The Woodlands Area EDP. This growth in health care is part of what has made the region attrac- tive for life sciences, said Katie Pryor, chief development ocer and senior 5 6 2 3 “A LOT OF INNOVATION IS COMING OUT OF THE TEXAS REGION. … IT’S CRITICAL FOR US TO CONTINUE TO DEVELOP AND GROW CELL THERAPY IN THIS VERY IMPORTANT REGION.” STELLA VNOOK, CHIEF SCIENTIFIC OFFICER, CELLIPONT BIOSERVICES vice president for member engage- ment with the Greater Houston Part- nership, at the Dec. 13 Future of the Houston Region event. “The rising economic development interests in the area, particularly in Montgomery County, recently have created incredible opportunities for innovation and growth in sectors in industries and technology,” Pryor said at the event. California-based companies took notice, and Cellipont President and CEO Deborah Wild said The Wood- lands t the company economically as well as logistically. “We performed a regional analysis

… and found that The Woodlands from an economic perspective was a great place for employees to live,” Wild said. “Employees are more likely to stay if the schools are fantastic; it’s a beautiful, safe area.” Stella Vnook, chief scientic ocer for Cellipont, said the region is ideal for companies such as Cellipont with its proximity to the Texas Medical Center and Houston-area airports as well as sites where a scientic com- munity of research and innovation is growing. Texas is also a central loca- tion within the country—an important factor when delicate biological mate- rials must be shipped quickly across long distances, she said. “A lot of innovation is coming out of the Texas region. … It’s critical for us to continue to develop and grow cell therapy in this very important region.” Vnook said. Wild said the company has 70 employees in San Diego, and while some executives will move to the new location, most of the hires will be local. As it expects to expand on-site with a manufacturing component, it will have about 200 employees when complete, she said. An even larger complex is planned at the Technology Forest Place site previously occupied by Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, which moved to Technology Forest Boulevard. The former 260,000-square-foot site is being developed into a life sciences campus oering more than 300,000 square feet of oce and laboratory space as well as amenities, including conference space, a tness center and pickleball courts, according to Sara Kabako, vice president of strategic

A 2022 study by the Hoover Insti- tution at Stanford University showed from 2018-21, at least 132 companies moved from California to Texas over- all. This is more than four times as many as the state with the next-high- est number of relocations from Cal- ifornia, Tennessee, which saw 31 corporate relocations. Gil Staley, president of The Wood- lands Area EDP, said the interest from science and technology companies is creating a new burst of activity in an area originally envisioned for these kinds of businesses by George Mitch- ell and The Woodlands’ founders. “We see it as a rebirth of [the] Research Forest [corridor],” Staley said. In 2022, two life science companies from California announced they will move their headquarters to or create a presence in The Woodlands. Cellipont Bioservices, a company which devel- ops and manufactures cell therapies for other companies, began work in November on a 76,000-square- foot manufacturing facility at 9501 Lakeside Blvd. In late December, work also began on space for Nurix Therapeutics at 8800 Technology Forest Place as part of a larger life sciences complex. Joel Marcus, executive chair and founder of California-based Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc., which is develop- ing the complex, said upon comple- tion, the campus will include a total of nearly 318,000 square feet. The rst phase will be completed in the rst quarter of 2023. “There will be nothing like this in Houston, a one-of-a-kind safe and cost-eective campus,” Marcus said.

WOODLOCH FOREST DR.

Space: 76,000 square feet Timeline: Moving in 2023 Moving headquarters from California 2. Centric Infrastructure Group •• 9950 Woodloch Forest Drive Space: Multiple oors* Timeline: Moved in 2022 Moving headquarters from within Texas 3. Lancium Technologies •• 9950 Woodloch Forest Drive Space: 26,530 square feet Timeline: Moved in 2022 Moving headquarters from within Texas 4. Nurix Technologies • 8800 Technology Forest Place Space: 50,000 square feet Timeline: Moving in 2023 Expanding from California 5. NYDIG • 9950 Woodloch Forest Drive Space: 26,530 square feet Timeline: Moved in 2022 Expanded from New York 6. Obagi Cosmecuticals • 9950 Woodloch Forest Drive Space: 16,470 square feet Timeline: Moved in 2022 Moved headquarters from California 7. SI Group • 1790 Hughes Landing Blvd. Space: 15,018 square feet Timeline: Moved in 2022 Moving from New York 8. SmartDraw Software • 1780 Hughes Landing Blvd. Space: Not available* Timeline: Moved in 2022 Moved from California *COMPANIES DID NOT PROVIDE EXACT SQUARE FOOTAGE.

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