hiVelocity tells the story of the new economy in Ohio. It's a narrative of creative people and businesses and what they are doing to create jobs for today and tomorrow. It's the story of a state on the move.Every other Thursday, hiVelocity will present original stories, video and photography to tell that story, from Cleveland to Cincinnati, Marietta to Maumee and parts in between.Read more about Ohio innovation in hiVelocity.
Ten Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky companies ranked on the "2011 Fortune 500 list." Topping out the local list, Kroger was ranked 25th and Procter & Gamble 26th. Other companies included Macy's, Fifth Third, Omnicare, Ashland Inc., AK Steel Holding Corp, Western & Southern Financial Group, General Cable, and American Financial Group.Read the full story here.
Global BioChem Technology Group, China's largest corn processor, is expanding across the West by opening its first overseas office in the Cincinnati area.The company opened an office in Blue Ash in March with four employees including COO Jeff Mahaffey, a longtime Cincinnati area resident who joined Global Bio-Chem two years ago. Among Mahaffey's duties are introducing the company to American and European markets and promoting the company brand."We're building the commercial organization, branding and marketing and sales distribution," Mahaffey said. "We also want to get better connected to our customers so they (personally) know who we are."Cincinnati is an ideal location for the company, which offers alternatives to petroleum based products, he said. It processes corn for use in products ranging from plastics and animal feed to sweeteners. The region is centrally located among its traditional customer base, which includes the polyester, resins, heat transfer fluids and consumer goods industries, among other reasons he said. "It's centrally located, and it's a good place to live," he said. As business grows, the company expects to hire more people. About 6,000 people are employed by the company in China where its manufacturing processes takes place. In addition, Cincinnati is located near large agricultural areas across the Midwest."It's in the agricultural belt of the country. We're the largest corn processor in China, and the big feed mills here are in the Midwest," he said.The company's manufacturing facilities are exclusively in China, but that could someday change. "We think the technology is good enough to actually bring it to the Western world at some point," Mahaffey said.Global Bio-Chem Technology was founded in 1994; in China it's known as Dacheng Industry Group. Its facilities are in industrial parks in five Chinese provinces: Changchun, Dehui, Jinzhou, Shanghai, and Xinglongshan.The company processed 3 million tons of corn in 2010. Its 2010 revenues were $1.2 billion and the company was ranked 46 among the 50 most innovative companies in the world in 2011 by Fast Company Magazine.Writer: Feoshia HendersonSource: Global Bio-Chem Technology Group COO Jeff MahaffeyYou can follow Feoshia on Twitter @feoshiawrites
Ohio's bioscience industry continues to grow and succeed despite the economic downturn with many facilities, including Mammotome in Cincinnati. Nearly $2.4 billion was invested in Ohio in 2010. Read the full story here.
A new growing industry promises jobs and access to cheaper energy resources on American soil. But this process raises concern and controversy as "fracking" involves using millions of gallons of water, sand, and chemical to break up organic-rich shale to release natural gases. A University of Cincinnati doctoral student of geography, Deborah Kittner, has been researching this topic and will present "What's the Fracking Problem?" at the Association of American Geographers annual meeting.Read the full story here.
Independent studies show that an ADHD drug developed by P2D Bioscience treats core symptoms of the disorder with fewer side effects than current, comparable drugs. Two pre-clinical studies suggest the company's PD2005 is as effective as amphetamine and methylphenidate in treating ADHD. The studies show PD2005 improve both sustained attention and working memory, but has lower side effects, including risk of addiction. The studies were funded by a grant from the National Institutes of Health."The primary criticism of current first-line ADHD treatments is their side effects," P2D CEO Dr. Frank Zemlan. "The treatments are Schedule II drugs of abuse prescribed mainly to children. In contrast, a unique feature of P2D's lead ADHD compounds is that they demonstrate no abuse potential in the 'Gold Standard' of preclinical abuse liability testing."The treatment of ADHD is a $3.5 million market; Dr. Zemlan believes a drug with less side effects will appeal to parents reluctant to treat their children's symptoms.Dr. Zemlan predicted, "A new ADHD drug without the side effect burden of current first line ADHD drugs will dominate the ADHD market," he said. P2D Bioscience is a privately held P2D pharmaceutical company that specializes in developing drugs that treat a range of disorders including ADHD, obesity, anxiety, depression and Alzheimer's disease and more. The company is based in Corryville and is managed by a team with decades of experience in drug discovery, clinical research and technology transfer.Writer: Feoshia HendersonSource: P2D BioscienceYou can follow Feoshia on Twitter @feoshiawrites
Startup catalyst Rock Health is soliciting hopeful health startups to apply for a chance to develop their ideas into fully-fledged businesses, products and services. To assist them, they will receive a grant, office space in Silicon Valley, branding, design and PR advice from Rock Health's in-house Creative Director, and access to experts at hospital partners such as Cincinnati Childrens Hospital.Read the full story here.
Innovation in the world of life sciences is becoming increasingly fast-paced and complicated, especially for startups trying to launch their first product or device. This year's regional Ohio Valley Affiliates for Life Sciences, or OVALS, conference will offer two days packed with information on navigating the rules and regulations of commercialization as well as creating a community of innovation.OVALS launched in 2002 at the University of Cincinnati to connect the region's major research and medical universities. It started with just a few partners and has grown over the years, and includes The University of Louisville, Air Force Research Laboratory, CincyTechUSA and Ohio University."This is a content-based program so we'll offer the latest and most up-to-date information in the life sciences industry. It's also a very nice, major networking event. We have the kind of mix in backgrounds that it really takes to have a vibrant life sciences community," said Dorothy Air, OVALS chair and VP for entrepreneurial affairs in the Office of Entrepreneurial Affairs and Technology Commercialization at UC. This year's theme is: Startups & the Innovation Ecosystem. A New Model for Economic Development: Building an Engaging System to Get Innovations into the Marketplace. Scheduled speakers include University of Kentucky Professor, Lee Todd, who will talk about contributions of universities to innovation, and members of the Global Cardiovascular Innovation Center of the Cleveland Clinic who will outline elements of good clinical study design. Other scheduled sessions include: Changes in FDA Paths and Navigating Through the Process and Proof of Concept: What it Means in Industry and Academia.The conference is the organization's signature event and brings together researchers, attorneys, entrepreneurs, investors and innovators. The annual conference's home rotates between Ohio and Kentucky and will be in Cincinnati this year. In addition to gathering for the annual event, OVALS' affiliates share resources and equipment that make the Ohio and Kentucky life sciences community stronger, Air added.About 125 people are expected to attend the conference on April 14 and 15. It will be at the Kingsgate Marriott Conference Center at UC. Registration fees range from $50 for students to $150. You can find out more about the conference here."By the end of the conference (attendees) will have a greater understanding what it takes to get a product to market, and they will have found some key individuals to network with who can be valuable as they go forward," Air said.Writer: Feoshia HendersonSource: Dorothy Air, OVALS chair and VP for entrepreneurial affairs in the Office of Entrepreneurial Affairs and Technology Commercialization at UCYou can follow Feoshia on Twitter @feoshiawrites
A new compound was discoverd that blocks the taste buds' ability to detect bitter flavors. Ioana Ungureanu, a scientist at Givaudan Flavors Corporation was involved in this research and says the compound could help consumers follow healthier diets.Read the full story here.
AssureRx, a Mason-based personalized medicine company, has just closed on an $11 million Series B round of financing.The company, founded in 2006, was formed to license and commercialize personalized medicine technology research from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and Mayo Clinic. Claremont Creek Ventures and Sequoia Capital led the round, which included existing investors Cincinnati Children's, Mayo Clinic and CincyTech. A new investor has joined as well, Allos Ventures. AssureRx is developing next-generation medicines, recently bringing to market its first product GeneSightRx, a test that measures and analyzes genetic variants in psychiatric medicine - in other words, how individuals respond to the drugs they get. The test, administered through a cheek swab will help doctors determine the appropriate drug and dosage for each patient's individual needs, which could lessen side effects in patients.The test is based on pharmacogenetics, or the study of how genetic makeup influences a person's reaction to drug treatments.This financing will allow the AssureRx to expand sales and marketing for GeneSightRx, and fund other product development work. "Our goal is to build the leading medical informatics company providing pharmacogenetic and other treatment decision support products to help physicians individualize the treatment of patients with neuropsychiatric and other disorders," said James S. Burns, president and CEO of AssureRx. Sequoia Capital, is a Menlo Park, Calif., start-up venture capital fund for seed stage, early stage and growth companies. Claremont Creek Ventures is based in Oakland and invests in healthcare/ IT, energy conservation and security markets."AssureRx has enormous potential as an early leader in the transformation of neuropsychiatric treatment toward individualized patient treatment. GeneSightRx and future treatment decision support products hold the promise for faster, better patient outcomes and less costly care for psychiatric conditions such as clinical depression, anxiety disorder, and schizophrenia."Writer: Feoshia HendersonSource: CincyTechYou can follow Feoshia on Twitter @feoshiawrites
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