For many people, the first few things they think of when they think of Texas are the energy market and BBQ. However, Texas is also home to some of the finest medical centers and research facilities in the country, and is quickly becoming a hotbed for healthcare innovation. With the forward-looking Dell Medical School opening up this summer, the future of healthcare looks very optimistic.

Group at TMCx

The MBA Healthcare Association at TMCx

SO, in the midst of cramming for corporate finance finals, finishing human capital papers, and PowerPoint decks for strategic marketing presentations, the MBA Healthcare Association decided to take a break and trek down to Houston, TX to check out the Texas Medical Center’s TMCx accelerator and innovation labs, and Johnson & Johnson’s Innovation JLABS facilities.

The TMCx accelerator is a 4-month program that helps healthcare startups by providing offices, co-working space, and professional services to help develop and grow their business model. They even actively foster relationships between the accelerator companies and  providers at the Texas Medical Center! We toured their highly modern co-working, office and education spaces, all solely devoted to healthcare companies. We also met one of their accelerator companies, Braincheck, who is developing a digital cognitive assessment tool. After chatting with them about their time as a healthcare startup and their experience in the TMCx accelerator, they quickly turned us into test subjects for their product!

JLABS

The Johnson & Johnson Innovation JLABS

Moving next-door to JLABS, we were blown away by the size and modernity of the facility. Wandering through, we explored the 35,000+ square foot, state-of-the art laboratory and healthcare technology development equipment. Companies that pass the selective application process can rent out this space at an extremely reasonable rate of $1,000 per month, with JLABS creating an environment that enables these companies to focus 100% of their attention on their product development.

Touring these two facilities was not only educational and enjoyable, but also eye-opening to how healthcare innovation and product development are changing. Clearly, good times are in store for the companies at TMCx and JLABS – we can’t wait to see what’s next!