InMotion sells naming rights to first lab

By Scott Shepard | Memphis Business Journal | Tuesday, November 20, 2006

Like any big league arena, InMotion has sold naming rights to its first laboratory, which will be known from now on as the Baptist Musculoskeletal Biologics Laboratory.

Baptist Memorial Health Care Corp. will pay $300,000 over two years for an interim lab opening in January at 20 S. Dudley, headquarters of Memphis Bioworks Foundation. The Baptist name will transfer to a permanent lab in the Bioworks Phase I building of the UT-Baptist Research Park, due to open in 2009 at the corner of Dudley and Union.

"InMotion is thrilled that Baptist has stepped up and associated its name with ours," said Richard Tarr, InMotion president and executive director, in a statement. "This sort of partnership enhances the brand of both companies."

InMotion plans to sell naming rights to another lab, which has a biomechancial focus. Three other labs are also in the works at the Dudley building. Naming rights for all will transfer the same as Baptist's to permanent labs in Building I.

InMotion was organized as the external complement to Bioworks. With a joint appointment with the University of Tennessee Health Science Center Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Campbell Clinic, InMotion is charged with recruiting young, talented clinical scientists to Memphis. As Bioworks develops the research park, InMotion's job is to fill the labs with a range of entrepreneurs.

InMotion has a similar partnership with the University of Memphis Department of Biomedical Engineering to recruit a director of biomechanics.

Baptist helped jump-start the biotech park in 2001 with the gift of its Midtown hospital, office buildings and parking garages to UT and Bioworks. The former Baptist-Medical Center was imploded a year ago to make way for the research park. Baptist still owns strategic pieces of land nearby.