SAN ANTONIO – A renovated warehouse just east of downtown is far more than just that, said Randy Harig, CEO of VelocityTX.
VelocityTX is the innovation arm of the Texas Research and Development Foundation. It is located in what had been the Merchant Ice complex in the 1300 block of East Houston Street.
"We consider ourselves the neck in the hourglass from institutional research to commercialization," Harig said.
He said medical researchers from UT Health San Antonio to the U.S. military who are trying to find a vaccine and treatment for COVID-19 ask VelocityTX to help take their findings and potential breakthroughs beyond the lab.
“They come to us, and we help them by coaching, mentoring and helping with funding,” Harig said.
However, he said funding isn't the only challenge.
"It's getting new ideas through a system that doesn't accept new ideas very quickly," Harig said.
Even so, he said VelocityTX and the Texas Research and Development Foundation continue to take those findings to "hand them off to then be further developed."
The VelocityTX website said the Texas Research and Development Foundation’s mission has been “driving economic development in and around emerging technologies,” as well as funding and developing ventures within San Antonio’s bioscience and technology economy.