Biotech Development Veteran Joins Memphis Bioworks Foundation as Director of Business Development

MEMPHIS, Tennessee, June 14, 2007 – Thomas Duarte, a specialist in the biotech and pharmaceutical industry, has been named Director of Business Development for the Memphis Bioworks Foundation. Duarte joins the organization after nearly 28 years in the industry, with the last three years as the Pharmaceutical Life Sciences Specialist for FedEx.

Duarte will be working on the development of UT-Baptist Research Park, primarily the Regional Biocontainment Laboratory (RBL). The RBL will provide research facilities for the development of vaccines and diagnostics to protect against infectious diseases and bioterrorism.

In addition, Duarte will work strategically with the Mid-South e-Health Alliance to strengthen the exchange of electronic patient information within the Memphis region in order to improve the healthcare efficacy for both patients and physicians.

“Tom has a wealth of bioscience experience which makes him the ideal person to be Director of Business Development,” said Dr. Steven J. Bares, Executive Director and President of the Memphis Bioworks Foundation. “His experience in biologistics, cancer pathology, diagnostics, surgical marketing and oncology makes him a valuable addition to the Memphis Bioworks Foundation.”

According to Bares, Duarte’s experience will not only benefit Memphis Bioworks Foundation, but the entire Memphis bioscience community.

“As a consultant, Tom is one of several talented Memphis Bioworks employees who are worthwhile resources executives can use to help develop their businesses,” explained Bares. “I hope everyone recognizes the benefits of our organization as effective consultants in the bioscience industry.”

Duarte sees his role as Director of Business Development as an opportunity to provide immediate impact to the growth of the UT-Baptist Research Park and the continuing growth of the e-health information exchange in the Mid-South region and across the state of Tennessee.

“Memphis has several strong medical and research niche industries that are providing a foundation for developing Memphis into a major player in the biopharma, medical device and Ag-Bio segments,” said Duarte. “My goal is to focus the attention of organizations in these areas on the UT-Baptist Research Park.”

While at FedEx, Duarte was the Industry Marketing Specialist. His primary focus was on the strategic development of both Express and Ground opportunities with the diagnostics, pharmaceutical, biotech and clinical trials segments. Duarte provided valuable industry knowledge, trends and marketing strategies across all levels of FedEx management and sales teams, as he leveraged the development of business within these targeted industries.

Previously, he served as Product Manager for Impath, Inc., a medical laboratory that specialized in cancer pathology and diagnostics. While at Impath, Duarte managed three marketing areas: Predictive Oncology, Hematology and Drug Resistance.

Duarte led the strategic marketing efforts in Allergan’s global surgical marketing division for phacoemulsification, monofocal and multifocal intraocular lenses.

Duarte’s experience also includes serving as the Regional Manager for the National Osteoporosis Risk Assessment program sponsored by Merck for the drug Fosamax®, and working with Amgen to develop medical education and strategic marketing programs to support its oncology physician base and sales efforts. Furthermore, he is one of the original founders of Oncotech, Inc. a molecular oncology testing laboratory focusing on chemotherapeutic drug resistance to improve the quality of treatment and life of cancer patients. He has written several publications for medical peer-reviewed journals, conducted presentations at numerous medical meetings and been part of the industry boards for Gynecologic Oncology Group and the Society of Gynecologic Oncology.

The Memphis Bioworks Foundation, a not-for-profit organization, was formed in early 2001 to establish the Memphis region as an internationally recognized center for biomedical technology through education, research, job training, and commercialization. Baptist Memorial Health Care donated its property in the Memphis Medical Center to the Foundation for the site of the UT-Baptist Research Park, which serves as the focal point of the city’s biomedical economic development. For more information, please visit www.memphisbioworks.org