Texas Public Radio’s KSTX 89.1 FM presents “Bioscience Breakthroughs,” a special series of news segments highlighting innovations from San Antonio’s bioscience and medical community. The series, produced by TPR News Director David Martin Davies, will air throughout the day from March 21 to April 1. The upcoming focus on these industries is a follow-up to the inaugural cycle of “Bioscience Breakthroughs” that aired last Fall.
The health care and bioscience sectors is an economic engine for the Alamo City. According to the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, the industry infused the local economy with $24.5 billion in 2009. Currently, it employs 1 of every 6 members of the San Antonio workforce. In total, nearly 150,000 employees are on the payrolls of area medical research institutions, companies and health care service providers.
But the impact of the region’s bioscience community isn’t solely economic, nor is its reach confined to the city’s limits. San Antonio is the source of numerous cutting-edge innovations that are transforming how the medical community worldwide is fighting and curing disease. From the development of the revolutionary coronary stent, the wire-mesh device that changed the way doctors treat heart disease, to gene therapy trials that may lead to advancements in brain tumor treatments, San Antonio is home to advancements that are saving lives and improving our health and well-being. Still, the Alamo City’s impact on healthcare worldwide often falls under the radar.
“Biotech research in San Antonio is creating jobs and growing the city’s tax base. More importantly, researchers and medical professionals in San Antonio are working hard to save lives, and outside of their industry they frequently don’t get the accolades they deserve,” said Davies.
“Bioscience Breakthroughs” aims to raise awareness of the impact of San Antonio’s bioscience and health care sector by reporting on a range of homegrown medical advancements. Each day, the series will highlight a specific innovation from a bioscience organization in San Antonio.
The second series of “Bioscience Breakthroughs” news segments are scheduled to air weekdays at 5:50 a.m., 7:50 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 4:30 p.m., and 6:30 p.m. on KSTX 89.1 FM.
"Bioscience Breakthroughs" is sponsored by BioMed SA; the Health Care and Life Sciences Practice Group of Oppenheimer, Blend, Harrison and Tate, Inc.; and Cappy and Suzy Lawton in support of the Texas Biomedical Research Institute.