Market Center Management Co. today announced the Nashville Medical Trade Center will include a 5,000-square-foot Global Business Development Center when the health care marketplace opens in 2013.

The center, which will be anchored by New York health care consulting firm mdi Consultants Inc., will provide services to international companies looking to enter the U.S. health care market via the 1.5 million square foot medical mart. According to Market Center, companies from more than 10 countries have shown interest in permanent showroom space at the NMTC, and this center should help it secure some of those companies as tenants.

“Guiding innovations developed by international health care suppliers to the U.S. health care marketplace efficiently and cost effectively is a critical component of the trade center,” said MCMC President and CEO Bill Winsor, who called the center a “game-changer” for international firms trying to break into the U.S. health care market.

“Mdi’s decades of experience helping global companies achieve and maintain compliance with governing agencies such as the FDA will be a unique and highly desirable service to our customers,” he said.

Through the center, mdi will provide services including regulatory and compliance assistance, product lab testing, quality system compliance, reimbursement assistance and business development aid. The center also is looking for additional partners to provide access to services such as showroom and display space planning, access to venture capital sources and branding and merchandising, among others, said Market Center spokesman Cole Daugherty.

“What we’ve heard around the world is that companies need assistance getting into the U.S. market, and this is in direct response to those requests for help,” Daugherty said. “We feel confident that Nashville can be an international gateway for global health care companies.”

Along with the Global Business Development Center, the NMTC will provide international showroom pavilions to showcase health care innovations from countries around the world.

Scheduled to open in 2013, the NMTC is designed to be a global health care marketplace where companies can shop and test health care equipment and supplies, access industry training and education programs, and attend health care conventions and events. Market Center will transform the current Nashville Convention Center into the NMTC by renovating the building’s existing underground convention space and erecting a 12-story tower on top of it.

But before construction can begin, Market Center must lease 60 to 70 percent of the building’s showroom space and secure financing for the $250 million development. So far, the project has announced a partnership with Lipscomb University and one anchor tenant, the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, which will take 25,000 square feet of space. Although Market Center originally planned to begin construction this year, Daugherty said the project is still scheduled to open in 2013.