Memphis Bioscience

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Collaboration, Commercialization, Speed to Market

The broad-based collection of bioscience industries in the Memphis region employ close to 57,000 workers across more than 1,000 establishments, representing over ten percent of the employment in the region. This concentration of bioscience industry activity stands more than 30 percent higher than the national average.

Memphis’ diverse network of institutions, organizations, incubators, clinics and bioscience firms is known for its research and clinical excellence, its depth of skilled technicians and internationally-recognized scientists and its commitment to deepening and broadening the bioscience training available locally. Memphis offers bioscience firms and researchers:


Established Base of Leading Biomedical Firms & Clinical Expertise

Worldwide Leader in Orthopaedic and Spinal Implants

Memphis is a worldwide leader in orthopaedic and spinal implants development as  well as orthopaedic device manufacturing. Memphis firms represent the full life cycle of orthopedic and medical implant product development from research to product design to clinical development to manufacturing to distribution. Major manufacturers include: Medtronic Sofamor-Danek, Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics, and Wright Medical.

Four of the World’s Top Pharmaceutical Companies

GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, and Schering-Plough – all have major operations in Memphis.

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Memphis is home to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, the premier center for the research and treatment of pediatric cancer and other catastrophic childhood diseases. In 2011, St. Jude ranked eight on The Scientist magazine “Best Places to Work in Academia” list and ranked sixth on U.S. News and World Report's "Best Hospitals List" for Cancer care for 2012.  In 2013, St. Jude ranked as the top Pediatric Cancer Care Hospital in the country by Parents magazine. St. Jude employs more than 3,400 clinicians, researchers, postdoctoral fellows, administrators and information technology specialists from around the globe, including Peter Doherty, PhD, of the Department of Immunology. Dr. Doherty was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for key discoveries he made about the workings of the immune system. For more information about St. Jude, visit: www.stjude.org.

Memphis is a Regional Clinical Hub

Because of its large catchment area, Memphis offers bioscience firms and researchers critical access to a broad range of medical specialists as well as one of the nation’s most demographically and ethnically diverse patient populations. Memphis is home to Baptist Memorial Hospital, St. Francis Hospital, Methodist University Hospital, the Med, Memphis VA Hospital, Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, and the internationally recognized St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Memphis’ areas of clinical- and research-excellence include:

  • Cancer diseases especially brain and eye tumors.
  • Breast and prostrate cancer and hematologic malignancies.
  • Bacterial and viral infectious diseases.
  • Stroke, cerebral and cardio vascular diseases.
  • Transplantation and gene therapy
  • Mechanisms of fibrosis found in autoimmune diseases, inflammatory diseases and heart and other organ failure.

The Regional Medical Center at Memphis

“The Med” is the 3rd-largest Level 1 Trauma Center in the nation.

Specialized Clinical Groups

The world-renowned Campbell Clinic, Semmes-Murphey Neurologic & Spine Institute, and OrthoMemphis.

Smaller, Independent Companies & Start-Ups

GTx, Inc., Active Implants, HandMinder, Restore Medical Solutions, Bionanovations, and Expanding Orthopedics.

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Extensive Support Network & Opportunities for Collaboration

Memphis provides biomedical firms and entrepreneurs a rich staging ground for collaboration – from its institutional and organizational assets to connectivity with other researchers through high-throughput data sharing.

Memphis Bioworks Foundation

The Memphis Bioworks Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, charged with develop¬ing Memphis as a bioscience center by leveraging the community’s competitive strengths while expanding the infrastructure, educational opportunities, and entrepreneur support needed to expand bioscience industries. For more information, visit: www.memphisbioworks.org.

University of Tennessee Health Science Center

Adjacent to UT-Baptist Research Park and sponsor of the future Regional Biocontainment Laboratory, the UT Health Science Center is home to the state’s largest medical school, a pharmacy school with active drug development research initiatives, and many strong existing research programs. With nearly $100 million awarded annually in external funding for research and sponsored programs, UTHSC research centers include the:

For more information, visit: www.uthsc.edu/research.

FedEx Institute of Technology

Home of the University of Memphis Office of Technology Transfer, the FedEx Institute of Technology supports interdisciplinary research in such areas as artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, and biotechnology. For more information, visit: www.memphis.edu/fedex.

Educational Infrastructure

In the Memphis MSA, 22 post-secondary institutions offer bioscience related training programs or degrees, including University of Tennessee Health Science Center, the University of Memphis, and Baptist College of Health Science. Programs are offered in over 72 fields, ranging from the Doctor of Pharmacy program at UTHSC to an associates degree program in biotechnology at Southwest Tennessee Community College. Over 32% of all graduates from these schools earn bioscience related credentials. In total, 2,386 certificates; 545 bachelors degrees; and 953 masters, professional or doctorate degrees were earned in bioscience fields during the 2010-2011 school year.

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Optimal Infrastructure for Collaboration, Commercialization & Getting Goods to Market

Ease of Outsourcing – Biomedical Contract-Manufacturing

Memphis offers an extensive inventory of biomedical contract-manufacturing operations, including: Sandvik Medical Solutions, Tegra Medical LLC, Y&W Technologies, Onyx Medical Corporation, and Millstone Medical Outsourcing.

Entrepreneurship Development Organization – TECworks

Founded by the Memphis Bioworks Foundation, TECworks seeks to assist aspiring technology and bioscience entrepreneurs and emerging companies through experience-based education and business services. TECworks:

  • Educates and mentors entrepreneurs to ready their products for commercialization.
  • Assists individuals and organizations with evaluating investment opportunities and the processes of investment.
  • Provides an Angel Network in which qualified individuals can invest in the business opportunities being developed through TECworks.

UT-Baptist Research Park

A world-class facility in the middle of the Memphis Medical Center, the UT-Baptist Research Park offers proximity to numerous biotech businesses, strong university research capabilities, an urban campus, and a highly trained technical workforce. The 10-year, six-phase master plan (begun in February 2007) envisions a research, incubator, and commercial center dedicated to the bioscience industry. Four research buildings with an average size of 230,000 square feet will include:

  • State-of-the-art lab and office buildings.
  • A Regional Biocontainment Lab with a suite of Biosafety Level 2 and 3 laboratory modules.
  • Accessible vivarium space and centralized management of live-animal studies.
  • A cadaveric training academy.
  • A secure campus environment
  • A new University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Pharmacy building.
  • Facilities for training, meetings, and security.
  • Build-to-suit laboratory and office space.
  • Hotels facilities adjacent to the Research Park
  • Access to core labs including histology and GMP
  • Access to national IT research platforms
  • Attractive outdoor spaces and public amentities

Space is available for leasing. For more information, visit: www.utbaptistresearchpark.com.

Medical Education and Research Institute (MERI)

The Medical Education and Research Institute (MERI), is a leading center for training physicians and medical students from across the world in surgical techniques for innovative medical implants and minimally invasive surgical techniques. For more information, visit: www.meri.org.

Connectivity with Other Researchers through High-Throughput Data Sharing

In the next year, the Memphis biomedical research community will have access to the National Lambda Rail as well as one of the world’s largest supercomputers at Oak Ridge National Laboratories.

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Favorable Business Climate

Memphis offers bioscience companies a superior ability for distribution to customers and supply chain management, as well as an ability to manufacture products at competitive costs.

Speed to Market

Memphis connects the biosciences with the marketplace through its superior distribution and supply chain management capabilities. Memphis offers the latest cut-off times for next-day delivery in the U.S. The city’s central location and proximity to the nation’s center-of-population, confer a natural logistics edge. Added to that is the world hub of FedEx, which has made Memphis International Airport North America's busiest cargo airport for each of the last 20 years.

Readily Available Warehousing

Memphis has more than 174 million square feet of warehouse space.

Low Warehouse Lease Rates

We offer rates 40-50% lower than comparable space in cities like Indianapolis, Charlotte, and Minneapolis/St. Paul.

Low Operating Costs

Memphis is one of the top 10 most affordable cities in North America and Europe in which to operate a biomedical business and the least expensive city in the southeastern U.S., according to The Boyd Company, a major business consulting firm. These costs include scientific and technical labor, office space, utilities, and other business requirements.

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