Parkinson told VNC that while he still has little first-hand knowledge of other players in Nashville’s biotechnology community, he’s learned “these are world-class people who are in the Nashville area and, in addition, it turns out that Nashville is a great place to have such a facility.”

He said the new lab will be in Nashville essentially because he believes “you hire the smartest people you can find,” and his Nashville employees are well-rooted in Nashville. He indicated that what he’s learned about Nashville through a series of visits has only served to reinforce his decision to locate his product-development lab here.