Spark Innovation Center Launches New BioHub
The Spark Innovation Center at the University of Tennessee Research Park at Cherokee Farm is expanding its footprint and its reach with the development of the Spark BioHub, a dedicated life science initiative to support startup companies focused on health and wellness. The new hub includes expanded lab space, mentoring opportunities, and entrepreneurial coaching that will help life science entrepreneurs bring their inventions to market.
The Spark BioHub will occupy 2,600 square feet in UT's new Center for Precision Health, located on the third floor of the building also occupied by Knoxville Orthopaedic Clinic.
Spark offers what startups typically need: available and reasonably priced laboratory space, prototyping shops, and top-level mentorship in business model development, financial planning, and investor readiness. Since launching in 2020, Spark has worked with 40 different companies through its two-year Incubator program and its 12-week Cleantech Accelerator program.
"Having an entrepreneurial layer in a collaborative space like this is mutually beneficial," said Lilly Tench, director of the Spark Innovation Center. "Life science startups can take the innovations that are coming out of the labs and get them out into the world, and startup companies have the opportunity to collaborate on technical solutions with top university researchers. We know these startups need customized resources to bring their inventions to market, and the Spark BioHub will provide Spark both the space and the people to advise them."
To support the expanded work in life sciences, Spark recently brought on Tim Rinks as a new expert-in-residence with expertise in both pharmaceuticals and medical devices and started a new Life Science Advisory Board to guide the new initiative and provide mentorship to the startups.
Orion Therapeutics Inc., a current member of the Spark Incubator, is an example of the kind of company this initiative aims to serve. Orion develops next-generation RNA medicines using its proprietary multifunctional Orion GENESYS delivery platform. Orion is currently located in the UT Institute for Advanced Materials and Manufacturing in the UT Research Park.
"Developing more resources for life science startups will allow us to continue creating advanced technology companies, which leads to more high-paying jobs here in Tennessee and more local opportunities for UT's brightest students," Tench said.
Provided by University of Tennessee at Knoxville
