Leading Companies

The St. Louis BioBelt comprises companies engaged in the development and production of medicines, agricultural chemicals, organic chemical manufacturing, medical equipment manufacturing, and research and development.

In total, nearly 400 plant and medical sciences enterprises call the St. Louis region home, with about 18,000 employees.

Major and Emerging St. Louis Plant and Medical Science Companies Apath, LLC GlaxoSmithKline Inc. Pfizer Inc. bioMérieux Inc. ICL Performance Products Pharma Tech Industries Centocor Biologics, LLC Jost Chemical Co. Reliable Biopharmaceutical Corp. Chemir Analytical Services Kereos, Inc. Sequoia Sciences, Inc. Covidien Pharmaceutical Products & Imaging Solutions   Meridian Medical Technologies, Inc. Sigma-Aldrich Co. Divergence Inc. Millipore Corp. Solae Co. Fleming Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Monsanto Co. Stereotaxis, Inc. Forest Pharmaceuticals Inc. Orion Genomics LLC Tripos International

• Centocor Biologics, a member of the Johnson & Johnson family of companies, produces clinical stage biomedicines for use in therapeutic areas such as immune-related disease.

• Covidien Pharmaceutical Products and Imaging Solutions, a global corporation specializing in respiratory care, imaging products and analgesic pharmaceuticals, operates a state-of-the-art R&D center in St. Louis for its Pharmaceutical Division where new generic products are under development that will provide extended release of pain relievers. Covidien Pharmaceutical Products and Imaging Solutions was formerly known as Tyco Healthcare/Mallinckrodt.

• Forest Pharmaceuticals Inc., manufactures, distributes, and sells Forest-branded ethical prescription products in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. FPI’s newly expanded facilities are designed to accommodate future growth.

• Millipore Corp., expanded its Bioscience Drug Discovery and Development headquarters located on 14 acres in the Missouri Research Park. A $3.4 million investment in additional space houses 60 additional master's degree and doctoral-level scientists. The Millipore unit provides life sciences research products and services for large pharmaceutical and biotech companies.

• Monsanto Co., a world pioneer in plant biotechnology and genomics, is undertaking a global effort to address drought and stress tolerance of crops.

• Pfizer Inc., the world's largest pharmaceutical company, recently completed a $200 million, 330,000-square-foot research facility at its St. Louis Laboratories campus where over 1,000 employees focus on creating new medicines to help patients who suffer from rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, and lupus, to name a few. St. Louis is also Pfizer's global center for biologics. The company is constructing a $50 million, 60,000-square-foot Good Manufacturing Practices biotherapeutic building where it will produce biotherapeutics compounds - novel new medicines derived from cell lines - that can be utilized to treat serious illnesses that may not have responded to other drug treatments. These expansion projects are helping to place the St. Louis region on the cutting edge of pharmaceutical research.

• Sigma-Aldrich, a leading producer of biochemical and organic chemical products, has approximately 2,000 employees in St. Louis including a 145,000-square-foot Life Science Technology Center.

• More than six billion Tums antacid tablets are produced annually in downtown St. Louis. Now owned by GlaxoSmithKline, Tums were developed in St. Louis in 1928. GSK invested $2.8 million in the 229,000-square-foot facility in 2004 as it moved its Oscal manufacturing line to St. Louis.

• The Solae Co., an alliance of Bunge Ltd. and DuPont that develops and makes specialty food ingredients, located its headquarters and R&D operations in St. Louis. Solae consolidated its 400 St. Louis employees into the company's new 172,000-square-foot global headquarters and R&D center in the CORTEX Life Science District in Midtown St. Louis in 2007.

Emerging Company Highlights

• Divergence is a world leader in the application of genomics to parasitic and infectious disease in agriculture.

• Kereos develops targeted therapeutics and molecular imaging agents that detect and attack cancer and cardiovascular disease and which recently closed on a $19 million venture capital round.

• Orion Genomics develops noninvasive diagnostic tests for the early detection of cancer.

• Sequoia Sciences is an emerging leader in drug discovery focused on rapidly identifying novel, drug-like compounds from plants with potential therapeutic applications.

• Stereotaxis, the developer of an advanced cardiology instrument control system, had a successful IPO in 2005. Installed in 100 hospitals worldwide, Stereotaxis Niobe Remote Magnetic Navigation System is setting a new standard of care for treating cardiac arrhythmia in all four chambers of the heart.

Updated: May 1, 2009