AUSTIN, Texas, April 24, 2023 — Research Bridge Partners – which makes formative investments in biomedical startup companies based on the breakthroughs of preeminent innovators at mid-continent research universities – announces a collaboration with Lyda Hill Philanthropies (LHP) to support scientists at UT Southwestern Medical Center to translate their scientific discoveries into biotechnology companies. Initial investments by both organizations will total $4 million.
The capital will be used to identify researchers whose science and entrepreneurial mindsets are characteristic of successful biomedical companies, establish effective management and governance structures for each spinout, safeguard their intellectual property, and recruit board members and senior executives.
Following the initial funding and expertise offered by both Research Bridge Partners and UT Southwestern’s Office for Technology Development, subsequent investments will be raised through special purpose vehicles.
The initiative will also include bespoke high-impact advisory sessions and ad hoc strategic support for early-stage researchers at UT Southwestern.
UT Southwestern, one of the nation’s premier academic medical centers, integrates pioneering biomedical research with exceptional clinical care and education. UT Southwestern faculty includes four active Nobel Laureates, 24 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 18 members of the National Academy of Medicine, and 14 HHMI Investigators. UT Southwestern, ranked the No. 1 institution globally among healthcare institutions for publishing high-quality scientific research, currently leads about 5,800 research projects with nearly $634 million in support from the National Institutes of Health, the state of Texas, foundations, individuals, and corporations.
“Our organization is committed to funding transformational advances in science and a focus area of ours is to augment the fast-growing biotech ecosystem in North Texas,” says Nicole Small, CEO of LH Capital, Inc. and Lyda Hill Philanthropies. “Research Bridge Partners’ program to help advance scientific discovery and medical breakthroughs is directly aligned with our mission, and UT Southwestern is an ideal candidate to be selected for this program.”
“Even the best scientific researchers need to bridge the commercialization resources concentrated in Silicon Valley and Boston,” said Research Bridge Partners Co-Founder and CEO Isaac Barchas. “These commercialization hubs are often viewed as competitors to university- and regionally focused funding initiatives, but they’re actually an essential resource for high-ceiling ventures.”
“When Isaac and I established Research Bridge Partners, we did so with institutions like UT Southwestern in mind,” said Research Bridge Partners Co-Founder and Chairman Reid Hoffman. “To realize the societal and economic potential of their innovations, the best biomedical researchers need access to the venture capital, professional service firms, not to mention the velocity of the deal making, that are concentrated in the San Francisco and Boston areas.”
The Research Bridge Partners program will be available to support all departments within the UTSW institution, including the Office of Technology Development at Pegasus Park, a 25-acre mixed-use office campus in Dallas. Pegasus Park was developed to function as a dynamic ecosystem and promote collaboration, cross-creativity, and entrepreneurship to support advances in biotech and life sciences, social impact, and corporate innovation.
“This partnership will support our goal of advancing the bench to bedside progression of our world class research and will enable our faculty to optimize the value of their breakthroughs for the benefit of people everywhere,” said Marc A. Nivet, Ed.D., M.B.A., Executive Vice President for Institutional Advancement and Professor of Family and Community Medicine at UT Southwestern.
About Research Bridge Partners
Research Bridge Partners makes formative investments in biomedical startup companies based on the breakthroughs of preeminent innovators at mid-continent research universities—creating high quality investment opportunities that are sourced from geographies with thinner commercialization resources.
Founded by Isaac Barchas and Reid Hoffman, we use proprietary analytics to identify the less than 1% of academic researchers nationwide whose science and entrepreneurial mindsets are characteristic of successful biomedical startups. We then make seed capital and scaling investments and establish effective corporate structures to create portfolio-ready opportunities for downstream investors.
About UT Southwestern Medical Center
UT Southwestern, one of the nation’s premier academic medical centers, integrates pioneering biomedical research with exceptional clinical care and education. The institution’s faculty has received six Nobel Prizes and includes 24 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 18 members of the National Academy of Medicine, and 14 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators. The full-time faculty of more than 2,900 is responsible for groundbreaking medical advances and is committed to translating science-driven research quickly to new clinical treatments. UT Southwestern physicians provide care in more than 80 specialties to more than 100,000 hospitalized patients, more than 360,000 emergency room cases, and oversee nearly 4 million outpatient visits a year.
About Lyda Hill Philanthropies Lyda Hill Philanthropies encompasses the charitable giving for founder Lyda Hill and includes her foundation and personal philanthropy. The organization is committed to funding transformational advances in science and nature, empowering nonprofit organizations and improving the Texas and Colorado communities. Because Miss Hill has a fervent belief that “science is the answer” to many of life’s most challenging issues, she has chosen to donate the entirety of her estate to philanthropy and scientific research.