Robbins kicks off C3: MedTech16 Conference

Texas Medical Center President and CEO Robert C. Robbins, M.D., delivered the keynote address for the inaugural C3: MedTech16 Conference that took place April 12.

Presented by Osha Liang LLP, an intellectual property law firm with an office in Houston, the conference included plenty of networking and panels on regulatory issues, successful CEOs within the industry, intellectual property and investors.

In front of a room of about 40 attendees and numerous virtual attendees, Robbins outlined the medical center’s plan to collectively advance it and the region as a global competitor in the life science arena, including bringing in current partners like Johnson & Johnson Innovation, AT&T and Apple.

He also addressed the upcoming Medical World Americas on May 18-20 at the George R. Brown Convention Center. It’s a partnership between TMC, international trade fair operator Messe Düsseldorf North America and Houston First Corporation/Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Robbins sees events like these as a way to grow the brand of Houston and the Texas Medical Center while showing off the exciting things being done here.

“It is a great way for people to come here and engage in the content of the meetings, see the latest and greatest innovations, strengthen ties with old friends and make new ones,” he said.

In addition, Robbins told the audience that work still needs to be done on bringing companies to Houston.

“We need to overcome the inertia and the barriers, and we will continue to do that,” Robbins said. “There are several people on our team, like Bill McKeon, Erik Halvorsen and Thomas DeSouza, who work toward that. It is also dependent on a lot of you, the serial entrepreneurs, to help us as an advisory and mentoring group. Any way we can help, we will do it. You just have to find an idea and put it together with some resources.”

When asked about if Houston was turning a corner in its visibility as a life sciences hub, Robbins responded that people are starting to take notice, and it will take a culmination of several upcoming projects to put the city on the right track. Those include new partnerships, the building of the TMC3 campus and the development of a venture capital fund.

“Houston is the third-largest city, so this should be easy,” Robbins concluded. “We have all the ingredients, we just have to get people to work together.”