The Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville is seeking applicants for the 2022 class of Periscope: Artist Entrepreneur Training, an annual business development intensive that empowers working artists to see their creative practice through an entrepreneurial lens.

The Periscope curriculum provides tools and resources to help artists organize, plan, and sustain a creative career with the goal of developing an individualized business model based on their creative output.

Each annual cohort is made up of a diverse group of artists, artisans, makers, and creative entrepreneurs of varying artistic genres. With workshops led by highly experienced instructors from within Nashville’s entrepreneurial community along with breakout sessions facilitated by some of Nashville’s top arts professionals, Periscope is designed to be a transformative experience for each artist sparking the moment when their career will really start to take off.

The Arts & Business Council will host a virtual information session Jan. 20 to provide more information about the program, application process, important dates and to answer questions from potential applicants. Those interested should register at online. Information

HCA buys 59 Florida urgent care centers

HCA Healthcare, Inc. has announced it has purchased MD Now Urgent Care, a network of 59 urgent care centers in Florida.

The transaction significantly expands HCA Healthcare’s reach as one of the nation’s leading providers of urgent care, currently operating more than 170 clinics across 19 markets. MD Now is the largest urgent care provider in Florida.

“The addition of MD Now Urgent Care in Florida enhances our already strong capabilities in a rapidly growing state by providing convenient outpatient care options for our patients,” says Sam Hazen, HCA Healthcare’s chief executive officer. “It also connects MD Now patients to a comprehensive statewide network of care, including acute care and specialty services should they be needed.”

The acquisition of these MD Now centers, combined with the November announcement of HCA Healthcare’s plans to build three additional hospitals in the state, will enhance HCA Florida Healthcare’s ability to offer patient-centered, high-quality care to more Floridians and meet the growing need for health care services in the state. HCA Florida Healthcare currently serves 6.4 million patients each year at more than 400 affiliated sites of care across Florida.

The transaction was completed at the end of 2021. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Richmond American plans Columbia build

Richmond American Homes of Tennessee is building a new residential community in Maury County, The Ridge at Carter’s Station.

Sales will begin in spring. The community will be located at Carters Creek Road and Windstone Trail in Columbia and will have 124 homesites, the first phase of a larger master-planned community in development.

Richmond American, a subsidiary of M.D.C. Holdings, Inc., will offer ranch and two-story floor plans, including the Alexandrite, Hemingway and Moonstone, which will be modeled there.

The company is known for its inspired floor plans, quality construction and unwavering commitment to customer satisfaction. Richmond America is also known for personalization with its builder’s Home Gallery, a boutique-style showroom where buyers can select even the smallest details.

Gehan Homes expands to Middle Tennessee

Gehan Homes, the ninth-largest private homebuilder in the U.S., has announced plans to begin homebuilding operations in Nashville.

Nashville ranks as one of the nation’s top-performing large metros for job and population growth.

The new division will focus on homebuilding production across the Middle Tennessee region. With an existing footprint in Texas, Arizona and Colorado, the expansion marks the fourth state and seventh submarket in which the builder operates. The new division will be overseen by Brandon Rickman, a West Tennessee native with over 18 years’ experience in the homebuilding industry.

“Nashville is one of the top housing markets in the country with strong fundamentals for sustainable growth,” says John Winniford, president and CEO of Gehan Homes. “We have been evaluating the market for the last couple of years; the move is consistent with our plan to expand into markets that fit the profile of our existing footprint.”

The homebuilder has begun actively pursuing acquisition of residential land and lots in highly desirable locations across the region.

Two portable services companies acquired

LRS, an independent waste diversion, recycling and portable services provider, has extended its geographic footprint into Middle Tennessee with the acquisitions of two Nashville-area portable services companies: Liberty Waste, LLC and Rocky Top Disposal.

The acquisitions are effective immediately and financial terms were not disclosed.

The deals capped a year of unprecedented growth for LRS in the midst of the pandemic, safely operating and delivering essential frontline waste diversion, recycling and portable sanitation services across nine states.

The additions of Liberty Waste and Rocky Top Disposal dramatically increase the size and scale of LRS’ portable restroom division. Specifically, these acquisitions propel LRS to the fourth largest portable restroom company in North America.

The acquisitions result in the addition of nearly 100 employees, the addition of 65 trucks to the LRS fleet and a new 5,700-square-foot facility in Gallatin.

Cumberland closes deal with Kyowa Kirin

Nashville-based Cumberland Pharmaceuticals Inc. has entered into and closed on a definitive agreement to acquire the FDA-approved oncology-supportive care medicine SANCUSO from Kyowa Kirin.

Cumberland is a specialty pharmaceutical company. Kyowa Kirin is the U.S. affiliate of Japan-based Kyowa Kirin Co., Ltd., a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on discovering and delivering novel medicines.

SANCUSO is the first and only FDA-approved prescription patch for the prevention of nausea and vomiting in patients receiving certain types of chemotherapy treatment.

Under the terms of the agreement, Cumberland will acquire U.S. rights to SANCUSO and will assume full commercial responsibility for the product – including its marketing, promotion, distribution, manufacturing and medical support activities.

Net sales of the brand in the U.S. were over $14 million in 2020. The financial terms of the acquisition include a $13.5 million payment to Kyowa Kirin upon closing, up to $3.5 million in milestones and tiered royalties of up to 10% on U.S. net product sales.

Fortitude Life & Annuity purchased from AIG

Nashville-based Fortitude Life & Annuity Solutions, Inc. has been acquired by Fortitude Group Holdings from AIG.

Fortitude Group, the parent company of Bermuda’s largest multi-line reinsurer Fortitude Re also acquired Fortitude P&C Solutions from AIG.

These transactions are the final step in Fortitude Re’s acquisition of AIG’s legacy insurance operations.

FLAS comprises 250 professionals and currently provides policyholder services for approximately 4 million life insurance policies issued by AIG, a portion of which are reinsured by Fortitude Re.

The completion of the FLAS acquisition provides Fortitude Re with a highly cost-effective, experienced and scalable administration platform for runoff life and annuity insurance blocks, allowing Fortitude Re to offer additional transactional flexibility and structural solutions for its counterparties.

Brown Water Spirits

offers fourth release

Brown Water Spirits LLC, the maker of O.H. Ingram River Aged, has announced the release of its fourth expression, Ingram River Aged Straight Bourbon Whiskey.

Since launching with one product in its home base of Nashville in October 2020, Ingram River Aged now has four expressions available in nearly 20 states.

The release of the Straight Bourbon Whiskey comes on the heels of Ingram River Aged’s market expansion into Louisiana and the launch of the Ingram River Aged Flagship Bourbon in August.

O.H. Ingram River Aged is the only whiskey in the world aged inside a proprietary floating rickhouse.

ParkMobile adds

Downtown Clarksville

ParkMobile, a parking app company, is expanding its services to Clarksville by offering reservations and zone parking.

Users will be able to reserve monthly parking permits through the ParkMobile app and/or pay for daily on-demand street or garage parking. Through the partnership, ParkMobile will be available at 234 on and off-street spaces throughout Downtown Clarksville.

Austin Peay State University deployed ParkMobile in 2020.

ParkMobile is also widely-used in other markets throughout Tennessee, including Nashville, Memphis, Chattanooga and Knoxville, with more than 326,000 registered users in the state.

Melt seeks FDA

approval for two drugs

Nashville’s Melt Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company developing first-in-class medicines for sedation and analgesia, has announced the filing of two investigational new drug applications with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The filings are for two sublingual, IV-free, non-opioid formulations – MELT-210 (midazolam) for procedural sedation and MELT-400 (ketamine) for pain.

Both formulations have been developed in an exclusive partnership with Catalent using its proprietary Zydis orally disintegrating tablet technology, which is currently used in 35 products.

Melt also announced that it is actively dosing patients in its ongoing Phase 2 pivotal efficacy study for MELT-300 and expects full enrollment near the beginning of the second quarter of 2022.

The Melt program’s IV-free and non-opioid approach seeks to replace the current practice of IV-delivered sedation and analgesia medication, including the use of fentanyl intraoperatively and other opioids prescribed for pain.

The company expects to report top-line clinical results of its Phase 2 pivotal efficacy study by the end of the second quarter of 2022.