In 2022, a group of visionary life sciences and healthcare leaders came together with a bold mission: to establish Northern Kentucky as a center for life sciences innovation. Their collaboration gave rise to Covington Life Sciences Partners (CLSP), a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing science, education, and entrepreneurship in the region. Led by Co-Chairs Chuck Scheper, chairman of the board of Bexion Pharmaceuticals, and Garren Colvin, president and CEO of St. Elizabeth Healthcare, this initiative laid the foundation for what promises to be a transformative future. Now under the leadership of executive director Christin Godale, who holds a doctorate in neuroscience and is a life sciences leader in the region, CLSP is driving this vision forward.
CLSP is scheduled to open a new wet lab in 2025 within the cutting-edge OneNKY Center. This 15,000 square-foot lab will provide the critical infrastructure needed for startups and entrepreneurs to thrive. The lab will enable researchers to work with biological and chemical materials, paving the way for advancements in healthcare and scientific innovation. More than a facility, the Covington Life Sciences Lab represents a long-term investment in Northern Kentucky’s future. Its shared lab spaces, advanced equipment, and collaborative environment will act as a launchpad for innovation, drawing talent and startups from across the region and beyond.
“This lab will fill a critical gap for early-stage biotech companies in Northern Kentucky,” said Godale. “It’s not just about providing lab space—it’s about fostering a community where innovation thrives and startups have the resources and support to grow and make a global impact.”
By equipping scientists and entrepreneurs with the tools, space, and collaborative opportunities they need, CLSP is paving the way for transformative discoveries. The organization’s commitment to innovation, education, and entrepreneurship positions Northern Kentucky as a growing hub for life sciences, making it a key player in shaping the future of healthcare and science.
Organizations like Gravity Diagnostics have been leading the way for life sciences entrepreneurs in the region. In 2016, Floridians Tony Remington and Julie Brazil—who had backgrounds in medical device sales and in clinical settings—moved to Northern Kentucky and founded the company.
“They wanted to be able to deliver critical medical information to patients before they needed it, before it was too late,” Adam Caswell, VP of Corporate Development at Gravity Diagnostics, said. “We now have the ability to give people the information they need before a tragic event occurs.”
Northern Kentucky has become a center for life sciences because it welcomes outsiders.
“Many people come to our region and say it’s unlike anywhere else,” Caswell said. “The community wraps their arms around them. We’ll do anything we can to help. And that was the same story with Gravity, for two founders in Florida that moved up here not knowing anybody eight years ago.”
The region attracts talent from nearby universities, such at University of Cincinnati, Thomas More University, Miami University, and Northern Kentucky University.
“Our labs needs are diverse,” Caswell said. “We need scientific talent who can work in our laboratory. We need finance talent to keep up with an ever-changing financial system relative to healthcare.”
During Covid, Gravity became a forerunner of Covid-19 testing; they processed 3.5 million Covid-19 samples. As a result, the company experienced astonishing growth.
“We were one of those labs that were able to provide information to patients, in most cases, within 24 hours of when they got tested,” Caswell said. “We went from a very small up-and-coming startup in 2019 to a very large company by mid-2020. We went from about 40 employees to over a thousand employees in about six months time.”
That expansion has allowed them to develop home tests and to be licensed in all 50 states.
“We have the ability to deliver information to people to get them healthy and stay healthy,” Caswell said. “This is at a time where much of the healthcare system is treating those who are already sick. It’s our goal to provide information to people to ensure that they can stay out of those doctor’s offices, that they can stay out of those hospital systems and live the highest quality of life possible.”
Caswell hopes Gravity Diagnostics will continue to head in the right direction.
“We’re committed to this region and to see that the next companies have the same ability to grow the way that Gravity Diagnostics has,” Caswell said. “We couldn’t be more excited about the future.”
Many years before Remington and Brazil created Gravity Diagnostics, in 1999 Timothy Schroeder founded CTI Clinical Trial Services.
“CTI is a global contract research organization,” Savannah Doliboa, Chief Commercial Officer for CTI and board director for Covington Life Sciences Partners, said. “We support biopharmaceutical companies in their drug development activities, and that kind of ranges for the whole life cycle of drug development, from initial interactions that they might have with the FDA, to all the way through their clinical trial conduct. Ultimately, we hope that we’re able to get that product approved and available to patients.”
They operate in 60 countries and have 1,200 employees, including 500 in the Covington office, which is their global headquarters.
“The talent pool is really, really key for us,” Doliboa said. “The demographics of our employees have two proponents: Can we recruit people, and is the talent present? With us being a life sciences organization, that’s kind of a specialized pool of talent. Most of our employees are nurses, have PhDs, and a medical background.”
The company works with complex patient populations, including those with unmet medical needs. They’ve approved drugs to treat Type II diabetes, acne, endometriosis, and rheumatoid arthritis.
“We have a really strong continued focus in immunology,” she said. “But we’re also in oncology and a lot in rare disease, and we’re considered the leading CRO in regenerative medicines of cell and gene therapies.”
Doliboa said she doesn’t feel competitive with the other local life sciences companies.
“There’s really not competition in the ecosystem,” she said. “We all kind of complement one another more than anything else. If you think about most biotech communities, most people will talk about Boston, the Cambridge area, or the Bay Area. We’re kind of under the radar in some ways.”
As for the next decade, CTI doesn’t know what the impact of AI and other technology will have on the industry. But they do know they’re here to stay.
“One thing we’re pretty confident in is that the research and development and the innovation is going nowhere,” Doliboa said. “CTI will continue to be a thought leader in how we support some of these really complex and innovative technologies that are coming to patients.”
Northern Kentucky has a bright future with life sciences, filled with opportunities for more companies to grow here.
“Personally, I’d love to see the ecosystem evolve into a destination for groundbreaking research and development, with even more opportunities for cross-industry collaboration,” Godale said. “By building on our strengths, we can ensure long-term growth and position NKY and Cincinnati as a leader in the life sciences sector.”
