The State of Ohio is investing $250,000 to support the Akron Biomaterials Commercialization Hub, which clusters the region's healthcare entities into a single planning district meant to raise the region's global profile in polymers and materials science as well as medical research.
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View full sizeGov. Ted Strickland on Monday designated Akron an "Ohio Hub of Innovation and Opportunity" focused on biomaterials, orthopedics and wound healing, a move aimed at attracting more biomaterials companies and investors.AKRON, Ohio - Gov. Ted Strickland on Monday designated Akron an "Ohio Hub of Innovation and Opportunity" focused on biomaterials, orthopedics and wound healing, a move aimed at attracting more biomaterials companies and investors.
The State of Ohio is investing $250,000 to support the Akron Biomaterials Commercialization Hub, which clusters the region's healthcare entities into a single planning district meant to raise the region's global profile in polymers and materials science as well as medical research.
The hub will be part of an existing Akron Biomedical Corridor that Mayor Don Plusquellic helped create in 2006.
This is Strickland's fifth Ohio Hub designation, following Cleveland's announcement as a Health and Technology Corridor Hub, Cincinnati as a Consumer Marketing Hub, Toledo as a Solar Energy Innovation Hub, and Dayton as an Aerospace Hub.
In a related announcement, the Austen BioInnovation Institute in Akron announced a $10 million project to move its headquarters into expanded facilities at a soon-to-be-renovated county-owned building at Main Street and Perkins Avenue.
The ABIA is a collaboration of six entities - Akron Children's Hospital, Akron General Health System, Northeastern Ohio Universities Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy, Summa Health System, the University of Akron and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation - launched to accelerate biomedical research as well as help prevent, treat and manage disease.
ABIA also aims to create 2,400 jobs within the next decade.
The institute will occupy the first three floors of the 40,000-square-foot building, which now houses the administrative offices of Summit County's Department of Job and Family Services.
Plans call for a state-of-the-art healthcare training facility with patient-centered simulation programs to teach healthcare professionals advanced techniques, scheduled to open next summer.
NEOUCOM will use part of the space for community-based health initiatives and education programs.
"We are creating more than just office space; we are building a 21st-century hub allowing us to recruit great talent, and to provide an environment that will push discovery and commercialization forward," said Dr. Frank Douglas, ABIA president and chief executive, in a statement.
ABIA, which now employs more than 20, hopes to create 50 more jobs in the biomedical corridor within the next year.
The State of Ohio is providing a $2.5 million research and development loan, with the balance of the cost coming from public and private financing.
