ARTICLE | Finance

Why Rice is launching a venture studio in Houston’s emerging biotech ecosystem

Founders see chance to build start-ups from university IP, with clinical infrastructure already in place from local institutions

October 25, 2024 10:04 PM UTC

The founders of Rice University’s new venture studio believe they can incubate and launch multiple new biotechs each year, capitalizing on a maturing biotech ecosystem in Houston while also hoping to fuel its continued growth.

Houston follows a long list of regions aiming to build a biotech hub on the back of excellent science and major medical institutions, and it will face similar challenges, most notably a relative dearth of local serial entrepreneurship and a lack of familiarity for investors...