Med school could grow biotech biz

AUSTIN (KXAN) - An Austin company is very close to gaining approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on a cancer treatment being used on patients at MD Anderson Cancer Center.

KXAN News got a unique tour inside the XBiotech lab where is it being produced, packaged and shipped.

Plastic bags lined the wall, filled with a red liquid where proteins were being made with genetically engineered cells that can stop cancerous tumors from growing.

The company behind it, XBiotech, says a medical school in Austin can only help their cause.

"It just gets us more notoriety and it helps get a great drug like ours out," said XBiotech manufacturing director Josh Combs.

Tom Kowalski, president of the Texas Healthcare of Bioscience Institute , says XBiotech is a prime example of the companies and breakthroughs a new medical school will bring to Austin.

"It will bring in top quality researchers on various disease groups from asthma, diabetes, oncology and heart disease," said Kowalski.

The institute aims to recruit and keep life science companies in Texas. It is a $75 billion industry, and there are currently 3,400 across the state. According to Kowalski, there are around 160 life science companies in Austin that provide jobs for about 8,400 people.

The medical school will also provide facilities for the company to conduct clinical trials, which is an important part of bringing a drug to the marketplace. That will provide benefits for Central Texas patients.

"Instead of driving to Houston or driving to Dallas for a clinical trial, at some point in the very near future, we'll be able to have clinical trials here where a patient can go and receive the type of medical treatment," said Kowalski.