The economic wallop of
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center goes well beyond its payroll and the taxes its workers pay. Its pediatric research center is the largest in the Midwest and one of the largest in the country and expenditures to support it account for 19 percent of the medical center’s budget. That means research there is not only bringing in dollars for today, but packing the pipeline for future discoveries and commercialization that will pay off tomorrow. The medical center projects 112 invention disclosures in 2008, up 29 percent from 2007, a new report finds. (An invention disclosure means a scientific discovery has been identified as having market potential, meaning patents and licenses can be pursued to develop technologies for commercial use.) Children's research portfolio has significantly increased in recent years and the numbers tell the story: It realized $5.5 million in licensing revenue in fiscal 2007, nearly double from the year before; 67 patent applications were filed, nine patents issued and 15 licenses signed.
The figures are from a new report put together by the University of Cincinnati’s Economics Center for Education and Research that found Children’s overall economic impact in 2007 to be $2.72 billion, up 78 percent since its last economic impact study in 2002. Children's Center for Technology Commercialization also helps form companies and funds to commercialize research technologies. "It’s important to acknowledge not only our impact on the health of our children but the impact on our economy as well," says CEO James M. Anderson.
Writer: David Holthaus
Source: Jim Feuer, Cincinnati Children's
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