GROUNDBREAKING NEWS

OncoSeer and ClearSight Named to

MassChallenge 2025 Healthcare Cohort 

BioNTX is proud to share that two of our members — OncoSeer Diagnostics, Inc. and ClearSight Therapeutics — have been selected for the MassChallenge 2025 U.S. Early-Stage Healthcare Program!

 

OncoSeer is advancing multimarker blood tests to diagnose and predict immune-related adverse events (irAEs) in cancer patients undergoing immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy. ClearSight is developing smarter, more effective solutions for common eye conditions.

 

The MassChallenge 2025 U.S. Early-Stage Healthcare Program offers founders access to a global network of mentors, investors, and industry leaders, along with executive coaching and leadership development—all at zero cost and with no equity taken.

Colossal Biosciences Makes History with

Birth of First De-Extincted Dire Wolves

Colossal Biosciences, a pioneering company in de-extinction technology, has achieved a major breakthrough by successfully birthing the first-ever de-extincted dire wolves, along with cloning red wolves, the most critically endangered wolf species in the world.

 

This milestone highlights the company's innovative approach to genetic restoration, involving 20 precision germline edits, including DNA from ancient wolves that had not existed for over 12,000 years. The wolves are thriving in a secure, expansive preserve, where they are carefully monitored and cared for, further advancing the potential to restore extinct species and preserve genetic diversity for future generations.

Recapping 2024: North Texas Emerges as a

Thriving Hub for Life Science Innovation

North Texas has firmly positioned itself as a rapidly growing hub for life science in 2024, driven by strategic investments, the relocation of major industry players like Verily, and the launch of innovative companies such as Vesalio.

 

Developments like the Texas Research Quarter and BioNTX’s Rising Stars program highlight the region’s commitment to advancing life sciences. With a strong infrastructure, business-friendly environment, and collaborative ecosystem, North Texas continues to attract both established and emerging companies, solidifying its role as a key center for bioscience innovation.

JPS Health Research & Quality Symposium:

Celebrating Innovation and Excellence

Join JPS Health Network for an event filled with thought-provoking breakout discussions, engaging live and virtual poster presentations, valuable networking opportunities, a compelling keynote address, and a research competition, where presenters will rise to the challenge of summarizing their impactful research —all coming together to celebrate innovation, collaboration, and academic excellence.

EVENT RECAP

BioNTX Highlights Waco’s Life Science Potential at the BRIC

BioNTX Facilities Advisory Committee, Grant Carter of Carter, Inc. and Patricia Robbins of CRB welcomes

(left) Diego Rozo of Perkins & Will, Christopher Albert, Azzur Group, Jonathan Rylander, PhD of Baylor University, Don Anderson, PhD, MBA of BioGut

(center) Curtis Breuer of AbbVie and Ameet Motwani, PMP of AbbVie

(right) Will Phipps of Cromwell Commercial Group, Kris Collins of Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce, and Jeremy Vickers, PhD of Baylor University

The BioNTX Facilities Advisory Committee hosted an event last week at the Baylor Research and Innovation Collaborative (BRIC) in Waco. Attendees received an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of the BRIC, showcasing the cutting-edge research, technology, and infrastructure supporting Texas’s growing innovation ecosystem.

 

Following the tour, attendees participated in a program focused on Waco's emerging role as a viable and strategic location for life science companies and research institutions. Speakers highlighted Waco’s access to talent, its expanding research infrastructure, cost-effective resources, and the collaborative energy among regional stakeholders—all making it an increasingly attractive place to do business in the life sciences. The evening wrapped up with a lively Happy Hour, giving attendees the chance to network, share insights, and build connections with leaders and innovators from across the state.

CRB Marks a Decade of Excellence in Dallas

(from left to right) Lauren Adegoke of BioNTX and Patricia Robbins of CRB

BioNTX attended the CRB Dallas Office 10-Year Anniversary Celebration in Texas, celebrating a decade of CRB’s impactful presence in the region. CRB, a leading provider of design, construction, and consulting services for the life sciences industry, has been instrumental in shaping the infrastructure that supports the growth of biotech and pharmaceutical companies.

 

The anniversary event not only marked CRB’s success in building a robust portfolio of projects but also underscored the company's commitment to advancing life sciences through thoughtful, sustainable designs. 

BIONTX PRESENTS

From Discovery to Impact:

Shaping the Life Science Ecosystem in Tyler

May 20, 2025

Join BioNTX on May 20th in Tyler, TX, for the second annual symposium focused on Building a Life Science Entrepreneurial Ecosystem. This event will highlight groundbreaking biomedical research and address crucial topics, including intellectual property, funding strategies, and entrepreneurial success. Attendees will gain valuable insights into the growth of the region’s life science industry and its role in shaping the future of healthcare and innovation.

Exploring Cutting-Edge Lab Solutions

at Pegasus Park with Avantor

June 4, 2025

Join BioNTX and Avantor at Pegasus Park for an exclusive opportunity to explore the latest advancements in research lab solutions tailored to your organization’s needs. This unique event will feature a dynamic showcase of vendors presenting cutting-edge tools and technologies that support every stage of research, development, and production.
 
Spanning industries from biotech to pharmaceuticals, these solutions are designed to drive greater efficiency, precision, and innovation. Don’t miss this chance to connect with industry leaders, discover what’s next in scientific advancement, and be part of the conversation shaping the future of research.

iC³ SUMMIT NEWS & UPDATES

Save The Date: September 2025

The iC³ Life Science Summit is an event that brings together leaders and innovators from the life sciences and healthcare sectors to discuss challenges, discover new opportunities, and drive transformation.

 

As we look ahead to the 2025 iC³ Life Science & Healthcare Innovation Summit, we are celebrating “10 Years and Beyond” with a focus on the cutting-edge intersection of biology, technology, and artificial intelligence (AI). This convergence is powering breakthroughs in precision medicine, biomanufacturing, and other fields shaping the future of healthcare.

Dates

Tuesday, September 16: 7:00am - 7:00pm

Wednesday, September 17: 8:00am - 3:00pm

Location

Hilton Anatole

2201 N Stemmons Freeway, Dallas, TX 75207

Recognizing the Next Generation of

Life Science & Healthcare Innovators

BioNTX is proud to spotlight emerging leaders in life sciences and healthcare innovation through the Rising Stars program at the iC³ Summit. This program honors entrepreneurs, startups, and researchers making a significant impact.

 

Nominees should meet the following criteria:

  • Emerging entrepreneurs
  • Innovative startups & early-stage companies
  • Researchers driving groundbreaking advancements
  • Organizations with ≤ $100M in funding or sales

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

GL CHEMTEC: A Trusted North American CDMO

for API Development & Drug Delivery Polymers

GL CHEMTEC is a leading North American contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) specializing in API development and custom polymers for drug delivery applications. For more than two decades, the company has delivered innovative solutions with exceptional speed, agility, and scientific rigor.

 

GL CHEMTEC partners with dynamic scientists across drug discovery, drug delivery, and biomedical polymer development. These innovators are focused on identifying transformative therapies and technologies, and they rely on a chemistry partner who is trustworthy, creative, and responsive. GL CHEMTEC proudly meets these expectations, helping clients advance fast-paced, high-impact programs with confidence.

MEMBER NEWS

Wheeler Bio Secures New Funding to

Expand Antibody Therapeutics Manufacturing

Wheeler Bio, an innovative CDMO specializing in the development and cGMP manufacturing of antibody-based therapies, has closed a new round of financing led by Alloy Therapeutics and Echo Investment Capital, with participation from Mitsubishi Corporation (Americas), Germin8 Ventures, and Russell Westbrook Enterprises.

 

The funding will support the expansion of Wheeler’s team, partner network, and capabilities—advancing its Modular CMC™ platform and enabling the next phase of growth, including plans for a new 52,000 sq. ft. large-scale biologics manufacturing facility in Oklahoma City’s Innovation District.

WuXi AppTec's Sites Pass FDA Inspections with Zero Observations

WuXi AppTec announced that its API manufacturing sites in Changzhou and Taixing, China, successfully completed back-to-back FDA inspections in March with no Form 483s issued. The Changzhou site underwent a GMP surveillance inspection covering 21 FDA-approved products, while the Taixing site passed a Pre-Approval Inspection for a peptide-based therapeutic — both without a single observation. These outcomes highlight WuXi AppTec’s strong commitment to quality and regulatory compliance. The inspections confirm the company’s readiness to support global partners with high-quality API manufacturing through its WuXi STA and WuXi TIDES platforms.

CDD Vault Integrates NVIDIA BioNeMo NIM

for Advanced AI-Driven Drug Discovery

Collaborative Drug Discovery (CDD) has integrated NVIDIA BioNeMo NIM microservices for AlphaFold2 and DiffDock into CDD Vault, enhancing its AI-powered drug discovery platform. This integration enables researchers to combine over 4 billion experimental data points and 80 million structures with predictive models for protein structure and molecular docking.

With seamless access to BioNeMo’s cutting-edge tools, scientists can now pair human intuition with generative AI for deeper insights and faster decision-making. The collaboration strengthens CDD Vault’s capabilities in structure-based drug discovery, helping over 690 labs accelerate their research with scalable, AI-driven tools.

DFW Airport Maintains Global Leadership

with Record Growth and Ongoing Expansion

Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) retains its No. 3 global ranking for passenger traffic in 2024, with over 87.8 million travelers—a 7.4% increase from 2023. DFW also ranked third in aircraft movements, handling over 743,000 operations, demonstrating its vital role in domestic and international air travel.

 

The airport’s growth is fueled by strategic investments in infrastructure, technology, and customer experience, earning industry accolades like the 2024 Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Awards for Best North American Airport. The ongoing $9 billion DFW Forward program will further enhance the airport’s capabilities, ensuring continued growth and improved experiences for travelers.

Evans Celebrates Third Consecutive Year

as Top Workplaces USA Winner

Evans General Contractors is proud to announce that it has been named a Top Workplaces USA winner for the third consecutive year. This prestigious recognition highlights the company’s commitment to fostering a workplace culture driven by employee feedback. The 2025 Top Workplaces USA awards are based entirely on results from an employee engagement survey conducted by Energage, which assessed culture through 15 key drivers of employee satisfaction.

Haynes Boone Recognized Among Top Law Firms

Haynes Boone has been recognized as one of the leading law firms in the LSEG Loan Connector’s annual Lender Law Firm League Tables, achieving impressive rankings as the No. 7 firm in total lender deal count and No. 9 in leveraged deals. With a 6.69% market share in overall deals and a strong presence in leveraged finance, the firm continues to showcase its expertise and influence across key sectors, including energy, healthcare, and financial services.

Building the Future: Turner Construction’s

Commitment to Sustainable Innovation

Turner Construction Company is setting a new standard in sustainable building by integrating environmentally responsible practices across every phase of construction—from design and material selection to execution and operations. Through its commitment to reducing embodied carbon, embracing innovative low-impact technologies, and championing energy-efficient solutions, Turner is helping to transform the built environment into one that prioritizes long-term environmental stewardship, public health, and climate resilience.

Shaping the Future of Health Care:

Innovation Microcredential Launches at UNTHSC

The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth, through HSC Next, is now offering a new microcredential: Cultivating an Innovative Mindset in Healthcare.

 

This six-week program is designed for students, alumni, professionals, and community members interested in driving innovation across health care and life sciences. Developed in collaboration with international bestselling author Gary G. Schoeniger, the curriculum focuses on entrepreneurial thinking and practical problem-solving.

UTA Breaks Ground on UTA West Campus in Fort Worth

The University of Texas at Arlington officially broke ground on UTA West, located within the Walsh Ranch development on the western edge of Fort Worth near Aledo. The new campus will feature state-of-the-art academic and research facilities aimed at advancing innovation, industry partnerships, and workforce development in one of the fastest-growing regions in the country.

 

Leaders from UTA and the UT System highlighted the campus’s role in expanding access to top-tier education and driving regional prosperity, emphasizing that UTA West will serve as a hub for innovation and growth in North Texas.

UT Dallas Callier Center to Advance Pediatric Hearing Services

The Foundation for the Callier Center and Communication Disorders at The University of Texas at Dallas has been selected as a 2025 beneficiary of The Crystal Charity Ball. This support will help launch the Callier Center’s HOPE Project, which provides hearing aids and follow-up care to underserved children in Dallas.

 

As the only provider of comprehensive hearing-loss treatment for all Medicaid-eligible and uninsured families in North Texas, the Callier Center plays a vital role in ensuring access to early hearing intervention.

UT Southwestern Launches Research to Develop

New Therapies for Cerebellar Disorders

A multidisciplinary team at UT Southwestern Medical Center, led by Drs. Nader Pouratian and Peter Tsai, is advancing research into neuromodulation therapies for cerebellar disorders—conditions that impact motor function, balance, and cognition.

 

Focusing on adult patients with congenital cerebellar disease, the team aims to develop treatments that go beyond managing symptoms to address the underlying brain processes. This innovative work could unlock new possibilities for patients with developmental brain disorders where the cerebellum plays a key role.

FUNDING & MENTORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

NASA Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH)

Program ends May 15, 2025

TRISH is an applied space health research catalyst that funds disruptive, high-impact research and technologies for astronauts. TRISH partners with NASA’s Human Research Program through a consortium led by Baylor College of Medicine’s Center for Space Medicine. Through this funding opportunity, TRISH seeks projects to help provide more accurate and precise ways of performing real-time non-invasive intracranial pressure monitoring for astronauts. Proposals must include non-invasive intracranial pressure estimation techniques to benchmark against existing methods with the goal of understanding their validity. Funded projects will undergo two consecutive phases. The first phase, the “Flight Definition Phase,” will consist of preparing for a potential flight on an orbital commercial spaceflight mission. The second phase, the “Flight Implementation Phase,” will provide support before, during, and after the flight. 

Accelerating and Scaling Biological Sciences with AI

Next Application Closes May 21, 2025

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) invites proposals to build large-scale AI/ML models that cannot be created with conventional university resources. CZI is the only philanthropic organization to fund and build one of the largest computing systems dedicated to nonprofit life sciences research in the world. CZI’s cluster is optimized for AI and machine learning training at scale and comprises 1,024 Nvidia H100 GPUs in an NVIDIA DGX SuperPOD configuration with access to VAST fast data storage. 

 

This grant is for an allocation of CZI’s GPU resource (minimum request of 96 GPU). This is an in-kind award; there are no cash funds, financial contributions, or fees of any kind associated with the award.

 

Applications will be downloaded for consideration over the next third Wednesday of the month until June.

Grant Opportunity for Physician-Scientists:

Up to $2M Plus Expert Drug Development Support

Letter of Intent due June 4, 2025

Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals is now accepting Letters of Intent for the 2026 Harrington Scholar-Innovator Award, which offers physician-scientists at accredited institutions in the U.S. and Canada a $100,000 guaranteed grant, expert drug and business development support, and the opportunity to compete for up to $300,000 in acceleration funds and up to $2 million in investment funding, while retaining intellectual property rights; Letters of Intent are due by June 4, 2025, with invited full applications due August 4, 2025.

NIH Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA) for Undergraduate-Focused Institutions 

Program ends May 8, 2027

The purpose of this Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA) for Undergraduate-Focused Institutions is to support small scale research grants at institutions that do not receive substantial funding from the NIH, with an emphasis on providing biomedical research experiences primarily for undergraduate students, and enhancing the research environment at applicant institutions.

Nominate a North Texas Life Sciences Leader

for the 2025 iC³ Dennis K. Stone Award

Dennis Stone, MD

BioNTX honors individuals who have made significant contributions to the North Texas biotechnology industry through the Dennis K. Stone Award. This recognition celebrates those who have advanced life science research and inspired others to do the same.

 

Nominees should meet the following criteria:

  • Industry Growth & Innovation: Contributed to the formation and growth of multiple North Texas-based life science businesses.

  • Generosity: Donated time, resources, or funds to support the North Texas life science community.
  • Mentorship & Inspiration: Inspired and mentored others, fostering the continued growth of the North Texas life science industry.
  • Regional Advocacy: Actively championed the region as a thriving hub for successful life science ventures.

INDUSTRY EVENTS

Upcoming Events & Opportunities

Biotech Invest 2025

 

Join BioMedSA to meet investors from across the nation and Texas bioscience companies seeking investment funding, while sharing best practices, connections, and advice. 

 

April 23rd | San Antonio, TX

Healthcare Think Tank Presents Celebrating

Cancer Treatment in San Antonio

 

Join Healthcare Think Tank at BioMedSA's Biofest Days for discussions on the Future of Cancer Care.

 

April 24th | San Antonio, TX

The Pulse Luncheon: Texas Stock Exchange

 

Join Health Wildcatters at their upcoming Pulse Luncheon Fireside Chat featuring the Texas Stock Exchange (TXSE). Attendees will learn the impact of TXSE on health innovation and the life sciences sector in North Texas. 

 

April 24th | Dallas, TX

2025 Texas Hip & Knee Conference

 

The Texas Hip & Knee Conference brings together medical professionals and researchers passionate about advancements in hip and knee healthcare and explore cutting-edge developments.

 

April 25th - 27th | Fort Worth, TX

13th Annual Odessa Pumps Charity Golf Classic

 

Join the American Cancer Society for their 13th annual Odessa Pumps Charity Golf Classic. Take a swing at cancer in this exciting event. Not only will you enjoy an exciting round of golf at Tierra Verde Golf Club.

 

April 25th | Arlington, TX

BHIANT Q2 Meeting

 

Join BHIANT for their second quarterly meeting of 2025. Meet with other industry leaders and collaborate to tackle pressing challenges, redefine shared goals, and strengthen the biotech and healthcare ecosystem across North Texas.

 

April 29th | Bedford, TX

BIO BREAK: Dallas' Life Sciences Happy Hour

 

Join McDermott Will & Emery, Deloitte, and BioNTX for another exciting Bio Break. Enjoy light refreshments and beverages with the life science community in Dallas.

 

May 1st | Dallas, TX

Golden Ticket North Texas

 

Join Ignite Healthcare for an inspiring evening as selected female founders present their groundbreaking digital health and medical device solutions to a panel of industry leaders, investors, and advisors. 

 

May 8th | Dallas, TX

BIO BREAK: Fort Worth's Life Sciences Happy Hour

 

Join BioNTX, RSM, Haynes Boone and UTA for a happy hour dedicated to the life science community—where ideas flourish, partnerships grow, and collaboration thrives. 

 

May 13th | Fort Worth, TX

2025 Research & Quality Symposium

 

Join JPS Health Network for an evening of breakout discussions, poster presentations, a keynote, and a research competition showcasing impactful scholarly work.

 

May 14th | Fort Worth, TX

2025 Building a Life Science Entrepreneurial Ecosystem

 

Join BioNTX and the UT Tyler School of Medicine to hear groundbreaking research and explores key topics like intellectual property, and entrepreneurial success stories. 

May 20th | Tyler, TX

2025 TechConnex by USICOC DFW

 

Join USICOC to be part of the action at the Annual Tech Conference in the heart of the DFW metro area! This event brings together top minds in technology, offering opportunities for networking, learning, and collaboration. 

May 22nd | Plano, TX

Thank you for your Membership & Support!

April 21, 2025

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