Ohio Third Frontier helps drive innovation and opportunity in biomedical industry

Ohio Third Frontier, and the strategic investments made by the program to bolster Ohio's biomedical imaging industry, serve as a national model for success and are the primary reason behind Ohio's position as a national hub for innovation and opportunity in the thriving biomedical industry.

At a critical time in Ohio's technology-based economic development advancement, Ohio Third Frontier, an unprecedented and bipartisan commitment to create new technology-based products, companies, industries and jobs, initiated a focused effort aimed at developing Ohio's biomedical strengths into one of the world's premier biomedical imaging locations for research, development and manufacturing.

"Grounded in a long history in Ohio, the biomedical imaging industry is enjoying a resurgence in our state, partly due to the targeted, well-timed investments made by Ohio Third Frontier," said Norm Chagnon, executive director of the Ohio Third Frontier Commission. "With state-of-the-art research institutions, world-class companies large and small, and a growing base of talent, Ohio's biomedical imaging cluster is becoming a powerhouse of new innovation and a magnet for the attraction and expansion of leading imaging companies throughout the world."  

As of December 2009, Ohio Third Frontier has awarded more than $358 million dollars to Ohio's biomedical sector alone, which is made up of at least 91 core companies and four of the five major biomedical imaging equipment manufacturers in the world.

Ohio Third Frontier's most recent contribution to the biomedical cluster is the approval of $5 million in funding to support Philips Healthcare's efforts to locate the Philips Healthcare Global Advanced Imaging Innovation Center in Cleveland's Health-Tech Corridor in conjunction with University Hospitals and Case Western Reserve University.

"We are pleased that the State of Ohio has awarded Ohio Third Frontier funding to this project. The goals of this Center will be to provide strategic research, development and clinical validation for advanced imaging technologies. True innovation happens when world-class clinical practices join with outstanding developmental resources, which is what this Center is all about. The strength of our partners at Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals, the depth of medical imaging talent in the Cleveland region, and the steadfast support from the State of Ohio made Cleveland the logical choice for this global innovation center," said Jay Mazelsky, Senior Vice President and General Manager for Computed Tomography and Nuclear Medicine at Philips Healthcare.

In addition to the biomedical imaging cluster, Ohio Third Frontier has fostered the emergence of new technology clusters across the state, including fuel cells, photovoltaics and liquid crystals/flexible displays.

According to the 2009 "Making an Impact" report conducted by SRI, Ohio Third Frontier's strategies for investing in Ohio's high-tech clusters contain all the elements associated with global best practices in technology cluster development, and indicate that these investments are already generating positive economic outcomes for Ohio's economy in terms of growth in technology sector employment, output and wages. Since its inception, the Ohio Third Frontier has created, capitalized or attracted more than 600 companies, has created nearly 55,000 direct and indirect jobs and helped create $6.6 billion in economic impact in Ohio, a 9:1 return on investment.

"Ohio Third Frontier's investments in these companies' research, development, and capital infrastructure, aligned with Ohio's educational programs focused on technological excellence, creates an environment where young people and existing workers are prepared to fill the jobs of the future enabling them to remain in Ohio," Chagnon said.