UT Research Park Welcomes Two New Tenants

KNOXVILLE— University Health Pharmacy and C2 Labs moved to the University of Tennessee Research Park at Cherokee Farm this month.

The two new tenants will lease a combined more than 6,100 square feet in the Innovation North building.

University Health Pharmacy, a specialty pharmacy owned by UT Medical Center, occupies 3,505 square feet to meet its growing needs of specialty care, program growth and care of patients with rare diseases. UH Pharmacy allows UT Medical Center to participate in phase II and phase III clinical trials, which enables a more straightforward process for FDA approval of developed medications.

“We’re delighted to establish our specialty pharmacy operation at UT Research Park and believe it will foster additional collaboration between pharmacists and other researchers with an interest in cancer, multiple sclerosis, hepatitis C, cystic fibrosis, rheumatoid arthritis and other conditions for which specialty medications are necessary,” said Kim Mason, executive director of pharmacy and research at the University of Tennessee Medical Center. “These interdisciplinary connections through the research park will strengthen the ability for both the university and medical center to better meet their missions for research.”

C2 Labs, an enterprise-wide compliance and security software company, has decades of experience in national security and highly regulated industries and moved to the UT Research Park for the numerous collaboration and growth opportunities. It will occupy the remaining 2,595 square feet of space. C2 Labs specializes in automation to solve complex digital transformation challenges, lower operating costs and increase digital security. It has already begun collaborations with the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s Haslam College of Business and Tickle College of Engineering.

“As a local entrepreneur, I was elated to open an office in East Tennessee and create high paying jobs in our community.  We also made a business decision to locate in a place with top talent, at affordable prices, and where we could have access to other innovators at UT and Oak Ridge National Lab who could help us build an innovation ecosystem and accelerate our growth,” said Travis Howerton, C2 Labs chief technical officer and co-founder. “I used to work at ORNL and I know the kind of talent they possess.  We are 100 percent bought into the Re-Imagine ORNL initiative and the vision for the UT Research Park, and we see them as an innovation hub and economic driver where our collaborations with them both can propel us far further than we could make it alone.”

Both companies will contribute to the UT Research Park’s mission of forging new collaborations, according to Tom Rogers, UT Research Park president and CEO.

“C2 Labs and UH Pharmacy are really great examples of the type of partners and tenants we hope to attract to the Park,” said Rogers. “They are both working with the university and other partners to explore new innovations in their respective fields, and the opportunities for even more collaboration in the future are very bright.”

UH Pharmacy and C2 Labs bring the total UT Research Park tenants to 13.

Tags: Cherokee Farm, Featured, Tom Rogers, UT Research Park