Life Sciences

From medical device and pharmaceutical manufacturers to providers of clinical trial services, life science companies are taking advantage of Greater Fort Lauderdale’s skilled workforce, convenient access to world markets, and public-private partnerships that help turn research discoveries into commercial products. 

Altogether, the tri-county region is home to more than 1,500 bioscience businesses and institutions that employ over 26,000 people and generate over $4 billion in sales, according to recent surveys. Leading companies in Greater Fort Lauderdale include:

• Aveva Drug Delivery Systems, a Miramar-based Nitto Denko company focusing on transdermal drug delivery systems. 

• Sunrise-based Bioheart, Inc., which has developed an innovative approach to repairing damaged heart muscle by using the body’s own cells. 

• Florida Supplement, a nutraceutical manufacturer and packager of nutritional supplements in tablets, capsules, liquids and power blend forms. Located in Hollywood, Florida Supplement has manufactured nutritional supplement products for customers in the United States, Latin America and Europe for every distribution channel.

• Goodwin Biotechnology, Inc., a fully integrated contract manufacturing organization (CMO) of monoclonal antibodies and recombinant proteins for preclinical and phase I/II/III clinical trials. Plantation-based GBI has worked with companies of all sizes.  

• Mako Surgical Corp., a medical device company with headquarters in Davie, markets its RIO® Robotic-Arm Interactive Orthopedic system and its proprietary RESTORIS® implants for minimally invasive orthopedic knee procedures.

• Micrus Endovascular, a medical device manufacturer acquired by Johnson & Johnson. Based in Miramar, the facility is now part of Codman Neurovascular, a business unit of Codman & Shurtleff, Inc., the global neurosurgery device company of the DePuy Family of Companies within Johnson & Johnson.

• Nipro Diagnostics, a leading supplier of co-branded blood glucose monitoring systems throughout North America. Nipro’s Fort Lauderdale locations house corporate, manufacturing, packaging and R&D facilities. 

• Fort Lauderdale-based OmniComm Systems, Inc., a global provider of eclinical solutions. 

• Israel-based Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd., whose facility in Weston handles engineering, information technology and purchasing services.

• Watson Pharmaceuticals in Davie, a leading global specialty pharmaceutical company that focuses on urology and women's health products. 

For more information about Life Sciences companies in South Florida, please visit the Life Sciences South Florida website at http://lifesciencessf.org/.

Photo Courtesy of Nova Southeastern University