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Ohio invests funds in bioscience company attraction
Omeris receives $1.5M to lead 3-year collaborative effort

Ohio’s Third Frontier Commission recently approved two projects that will positively impact Ohio’s ability to identify and attract cutting-edge bioscience companies from around the world.

Omeris, Ohio’s bioscience-focused Edison Center, received a three-year, $1.5 million “Asset-based Company Attraction Program” grant. Omeris also will serve as a collaborator with PolymerOhio, the recipient of a similar grant to attract polymer companies, some of which will have biomedical applications. Activity and funding for both programs will initiate in early 2007.

Omeris’ program will focus on attracting companies to Ohio’s greatest areas of technological strength in the biosciences, including cardiology, cancer, neurosciences, medical polymers, bioinformatics, and agricultural biosciences. Omeris estimates that there are more than 8,000 companies globally that could benefit from proximity to these concentrated asset areas. Over the course of three years, Omeris intends to attract 8 to 12 companies that will relocate or establish a new facility in Ohio. Target companies are defined as currently operating in the marketplace with annual sales in excess of $100 million.

According to Omeris, 775 bioscience-related entities are operating in the state, ranging from the very large to the very young. Bioscience-related entities include those involved in research, development, and marketing of pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, bioinformatics, medical devices, medical equipment, and other health-related products.

“A critical element of this project is raising the visibility of Ohio’s bioscience assets,” said Omeris President & CEO Tony Dennis. “This grant will allow us to make companies around the world aware of the abundance of bioscience opportunities, innovation and research expertise in Ohio that can enhance their ability to generate profits.” Dennis added that in addition to promoting Ohio’s assets, Omeris also will introduce and broker partnerships between out-of-state companies and existing Ohio entities where the assets reside.

Omeris currently enjoys the support and assistance of 28 collaborating organizations from across the state in developing leads and securing deals, according to Omeris Vice President John F. Lewis, Jr., who will lead the program. “Our partners include regional chambers of commerce, world-class medical and research institutions, and research parks, among others,” he said. “It’s truly a statewide effort.”

The company attraction programs being led by Omeris and PolymerOhio will complement current Ohio economic development efforts, namely the Ohio Business Development Coalition’s “Why Ohio” marketing campaign. Both programs also will utilize lead management tools maintained by the Ohio Department of Development.

In 2004-05, Omeris developed and operated a pilot program for the Ohio Department of Development that demonstrated their company attraction process to be highly effective. In the pilot program Omeris set out to develop 20 qualified leads of companies potentially interested in either relocating or expanding in Ohio. Omeris was able to develop 69 qualified leads, and three of those companies—Evotec, Rapid MRI, and Amylin Pharmaceuticals—have already established operations in Ohio.

In partnership with TeamNEO, Omeris also will lead a company attraction component of the Global Cardiovascular Innovation Center, the first-ever Wright Mega-Center of Innovation award. Led by The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, the mega-center recently received $60M in Third Frontier funds to develop and acquire new cardiovascular treatment technologies, spin off new companies, and recruit experienced leaders and emerging companies to establish an internationally recognized cluster of cardiovascular expertise.

Ohio’s Third Frontier Project has invested a total of $632 million since it was launched in 2002. To date, Third Frontier investments have leveraged $945 million in private and federal investment in Ohio, attracted or created more than 200 companies and retained or created more than 2,600 jobs with an average salary of more than $63,000 per year.

Current collaborators include; BIO/START; Edison Biotechnology Institute; Beachwood Chamber of Commerce; Ohio State University Medical Center; The Biomedical, Functional & Structural Imaging Wright Center; TechColumbus; LNE Group; Athens Area Chamber of Commerce; Ohio BioProducts Innovation Center; OARDC; BioEnterprise; Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce; TeamNEO; Air Force Research Laboratories at Wright Patterson Air Force Base; Cleveland Clinic Foundation; Ohio Economic Development Association & TeamOhio; EISC & Center for Innovative Food Technologies; Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Research Foundation; PolymerOhio; The Scotts Company; Procter & Gamble; Braintree Center for Business Innovation; Dayton Development Coalition; Ohio Business Development Coalition; Ohio Edge Medicine Center; and the NextEdge Technology Research Park.

Omeris is a non-profit bioscience membership and development organization supported by the Thomas Edison Program of the Ohio Department of Development. Its mission is to accelerate bioscience discovery, innovation and commercialization of global value, driving economic growth, and improving quality of life in Ohio. Omeris is headquartered in Columbus, with regional business development affiliates in Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Athens.