Houston’s Biotech Innovation Community Reacts to Robbins Exit at TMC
Summary
“We thank Dr. Robbins for his contributions that have inspired and united the TMC member institutions on a bold vision to transform our medical city into a leading destination for life sciences,” he said.Ann Tanabe, CEO of BioHouston, said news of Robbins’ departure represents “a sad day for us.” “I hope that the TMC board, with whatever successor they will choose, will come with that continued vision and passion for innovation and translational research,” she says.The Arizona Board of Regents said it plans to finalize Robbins’ selection and begin contract negotiations at a special meeting March 13.Atul Varadhachary, managing partner at Houston’s Fannin Innovation Studio, says those programs are firmly in place and, so, should not see any loss of momentum.“That’s a big positive.” Still, Tanabe says, “anytime you have the CEO change, that’s a significant void, and at that kind of strategic level, things do have to slow down.” Nadia Morris heads AT&T’s Foundry for Connected Health, which is the most recent outside partner brought in to be part of TMC’s commercialization efforts.