HISTORY

The BMTC was organized in April, 1985. The organization arose as an outgrowth of the old Sunbelt Venture Capital Conference that was held each year in April at the old Shamrock Hilton Hotel in Houston. At the 1985 meeting, several presidents of startup biomedical companies met and decided they needed to continue to meet to critique one another’s business plans, but also, since all of the people were technology oriented, to learn more about business. They decided to form a ‘by invitation only’ club for the purpose of serving technology people with a window on business.

The founders of the club and first Steering Committee members were Jill Fabricant, President of Biosyne, Inc., Dan Watanabe, consultant, Robert Willcott, President of NMR Imaging, Inc., Michael Barbour, President of Surgimedics, George Vera, Arthur Andersen, and Baldwin Tom, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. In August of 1986 Jay Herson, Founder and President, Applied Logic Associates, Inc. (ALA) replaced George Vera on the Steering Committee and remained on the Committee until August, 1991. Both Arthur Andersen and ALA are credited for their continuous support of the BMTC throughout its existence. More recently BCM Technologies has played an important role in the development and continuous support of the organization.

The first meeting of the BMTC was held in May, 1985 at what was called the Wyndham Hotel—Houston Medical Center, now the Hilton Hotel Houston Plaza. The speaker was Ronald Johnson from NASA Johnson Space Center who spoke on the proposed Texas Medical Center-NASA alliance to develop new medical technologies for technology transfer. Subsequent meetings of the club dealt with company profiles, intellectual property, regional economic development, technology-transfer processes, etc., much as they do today.

The BMTC has met once a month since May 1985. Many business promotion organizations have come and gone during this period. The reason for BMTC’s success probably lies in its simplicity. A voluntary steering committee relieves the organization of political battles stemming from election of officers, no speaker comes before the BMTC as a know-all lecturer but rather as a person explaining their own ideas and welcoming the ideas of others. The BMTC has been a technology promotion and educational mainstay during the ups and downs of the biomedical industry in Houston. BMTC’s survival clearly ensures its role in Houston’s future.

If you would like more information, contact the Steering Committee here.

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