Ohio fourth best in nation in bioscience, finds new report

Ohio ranks best in the Midwest and fourth in the nation for its strengths in the bioscience industry, says a new report from Business Facilities magazine. The report ranks states based on their number of bioscience facilities, R&D funding, venture capital investments, employment, bioscience-targeted tax exemptions, university grant funding and higher education degrees. As of December 2007, Ohio's total bioscience entities grew to at least 818. Capital investments, which topped $1 billion in 2006 alone, accelerated Ohio's bioscience growth by nearly $100 million, or 8 percent, compared to 2005, the report says.

Bioscience players in Cincinnati include big firms such as Procter & Gamble, Meridian Bioscience, AtriCure and Kendle, smaller firms such as  Akebia Therapeutics and Enable Medical Technologies; and universities and research centers such as the University of Cincinnati and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.
 
Statewide, a major initiative  supporting bioscience is the Third Frontier project, a 10-year, $1.6 billion initiative to help create connections between companies and academia. The project is the state's largest-ever commitment to expanding high-tech research, promoting innovation and creating new companies with high-paying jobs. Between January 2002 and June 2007, $637 million of Ohio's Third Frontier funds had been competitively awarded, with 55 percent supporting bioscience-related development and commercialization, says the Ohio Department of Development.  That state investment has led to an additional $2.7 billion in cost-sharing and co-investment in Ohio, creating or retaining 4,850 jobs, ODOD says.
 
This growing collection of biofirms attracts more of their kind to the region, says Tony Dennis, president and CEO of BioOhio. "For businesses, the benefit is a critical mass of like-minded bio-businesses and research universities, and a highly qualified workforce," he says.

Writer: David Holthaus
Source: Dace de La Foret, Ohio Business Development Coalition