Bioscience Marketing Veteran Tapped to Lead INNOVA

MEMPHIS, Tennessee, November 28, 2007 - The Memphis Bioworks Foundation has named Ken Woody president of INNOVA, a business accelerator/seed fund to drive the development of new bioscience-related companies in the Memphis region.

Woody was Senior Vice President for Global Sales with Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics from 2003 to 2006. For the past 15 months, he has run a consulting firm providing small and medium-sized business owners with sales, marketing and management analysis and advice.

He also has held management and sales positions with General Electric’s Medical Systems and Healthcare divisions, and with DePuy Spine, a Johnson & Johnson company.

“Ken’s extensive background in the bioscience industries, paired with his experience coaching small businesses, makes him the perfect candidate to lead INNOVA,” said Dr. Steven J. Bares, president and executive director of the Memphis Bioworks Foundation. “He has first-hand knowledge of how businesses work on the start-up level, but also understands how the larger industry operates, and what companies have to accomplish in order to succeed.”

Woody earned a Bachelor of Science in pre-medical studies from North Carolina State University. In addition, he served in the U.S. Army, earning the rank of Captain.

Initial funding for INNOVA is being provided by MemphisED, which is awarding the foundation $11.5 million over five years to establish the accelerator.

The Memphis Bioworks Foundation, a not-for-profit organization, was formed in 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.