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Current Issue
BioOhio 2006 and
Career Fair recap
Omeris partners with CareerBuilder
Ohio Bioscience Growth Report
R&D tax credit support
Mid-Am VentureForum recap
New publisher for
Accelerating Excellence
Omeris membership news
Bioscience events in Ohio
Previous Issues
July/Aug 2006
Feb/March 2006
September 2005
May 2005
January 2005
March 2004 (pdf)
September 2004 (pdf)
Keep track of
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Current Issue
BioOhio 2006 and
Career Fair recap
Omeris partners with CareerBuilder
Ohio Bioscience Growth Report
R&D tax credit support
Mid-Am VentureForum recap
New publisher for
Accelerating Excellence
Omeris membership news
Bioscience events in Ohio
Keep track of
industry and research developments with
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Nov/Dec 2006
Bioscience workforce and talent take center stage
More than 300 attend BioOhio 2006
Bioscience leaders representing industry, academia, and government gathered in Columbus on October 23-24 to discuss the future workforce and talent needs of Ohio’s growing bioscience industry. Omeris’ 18th annual BioOhio conference attracted more than 300 attendees.
According to Omeris President & CEO Tony Dennis, the focus on workforce reflects a strategic transition for Ohio’s bioscience industry. “In recent years, Omeris and other Ohio bioscience industry advocates have made great strides in increasing company formation rates and attracting unprecedented capital from venture capitalists and angel investor groups,” he said. “Given that success, the next step to sustain this momentum and establish Ohio as a bioscience destination is addressing workforce quality and supply.”
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| Recruiters and job seekers network during the first-ever Ohio Bioscience Career Fair. |
BioOhio panel sessions featuring representatives of major employers and universities revealed opportunities for enhanced communication and collaboration between Ohio’s workforce “supply” and “demand” sides. According to Dennis, Omeris will focus additional resources and programming to facilitate this collaboration.
On Oct. 23 in conjunction with BioOhio, Omeris held Ohio's first bioscience-only Career Fair, featuring dozens of Ohio bioscience employers and attracting nearly 300 job seekers from Ohio and surrounding states. Based on the overwhelmingly positive feedback from employers and candidates, Omeris intends to hold the event at least once each year.
Annual awards presented
During lunch on Oct. 24, Tony Dennis presented the Ohio Bioscience Leadership Award to Diagnostic Hybrids President & CEO David Scholl, current member and past chairman of the Omeris Board of Trustees. State Representative Earl Martin and State Senator Kimberly Zurz received Omeris’ annual Legislator of the Year award for their efforts to champion issues and programs essential to the growth of Ohio’s bioscience industry.
Omeris thanks the following members who helped with BioOhio planning through several subcommittees: Eric Stahlberg, Tim Nolan, Andrew Johnson, Marc Cloutier, Mike Triplett, Neil Chaudhary, Barbara Fant, Joan Herbers, Lisa Delp, and Paula Gomez Farrell.
Omeris partners with CareerBuilder on Ohio-centric career site
In August, Omeris teamed up with CareerBuilder to develop the Bio in Ohio Career Center on the Omeris web site (www.omeris.org/careers/default.asp). The new area is designed to make Ohio bioscience job searches more convenient and efficient for candidates wishing to stay in or relocate to Ohio.
Matt Schutte, Omeris director of corporate communications, said that Omeris contemplated creating its own job posting board from scratch, but were pleasantly surprised by CareerBuilder's’ ability and willingness to apply Ohio-specific filters. Fifteen bioscience categories, defined by Omeris, take job seekers directly to Ohio-based job openings.
“CareerBuilder is a trusted brand with a proven tool, and they agreed to extend a discount to our members, so the decision was pretty easy,” Schutte said.
Employers that are Omeris members enjoy a 10% discount on all job posting packages… savings that can add up for an expanding organization. For details on how to receive the discount contact Membership Coordinator Mollie Hannon at 614/675-3686, x1004.
CareerBuilder.com is the nation’s largest online job site with more than 20 million unique visitors and over 1 million jobs.
Report: Ohio's bioscience industry continues climb
With more than $1 billion in funding and 775 entities in operation, bioscience in Ohio experienced a record year in 2005, according to data published by Omeris in late August.
Overall, more than $1.2 billion were invested across Ohio to accelerate Ohio’s bioscience growth in 2005, a jump of more than $200 million since 2004. Funding sources include venture capital, angel fund investment, initial public offerings, SBIR/STTR, state biomedical R&D grants, and NSF and NIH grants. The largest portion ($717 million) of this funding came from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Ohio’s Third Frontier Project was another significant source of funding; $75.35 million were awarded to 7 various biomedical partnerships in 2005, and corresponding corporate and industry matching funds amounted to $112.45 million.
Bioscience, medical technology, and research organizations continue to thrive in Ohio. In 2005, 775 bioscience-related entities were 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.
The dispersion of these organizations across Ohio remains consistent with previous years, as more than half (400) of the bioscience entities are located in northeast Ohio, namely Cleveland, its surrounding suburbs, and Akron. Southwest Ohio is home to 176 bioscience-related entities, followed by central Ohio (134), northwest Ohio (37), and the southeast corner of the state (11).
Fifty bioscience companies were either launched in or recruited to Ohio in 2005, compared to 51 in 2004. One notable characteristic of this group is its diversity. From chemotherapeutic drugs (Auburn Pharmaceuticals) and therapeutics for multiple sclerosis (OncoImmune) to DNA analysis (Forensic Bioinformatics) and orthopedic screws (Merlot Orthopedix), Ohio’s newest bioscience additions are applying technology and service to a variety of market needs.
Collected by Omeris for its annual Ohio Bioscience Growth Report, the data also reveal the connection between Ohio’s world-class clinical capabilities and its bioscience industry. In U.S. News & World Report’s 2005 “America’s Best Hospitals” list, 16 Ohio hospitals were ranked among the nation’s top 176 hospitals in a variety of specialties, the third straight year Ohio was home to the most top-ranked hospitals. Due in part to its strong clinical network and medical reputation, Ohio hosted 20 percent of all clinical trials conducted in the U.S.
Omeris joins BIO and AdvaMed in supporting R&D tax credit
As Ohio’s bioscience membership and development organization, Omeris is committed to representing the collective interests of our members and our industry before federal, state, and local officials.
In a recent letter to Congressional leaders, Omeris joined the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), AdvaMed, and 31 other BIO state affiliate organizations in urging Congress to act immediately to extend and strengthen the research and development tax credit (R&D credit) before adjourning. Excerpts from the letter follow:
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“The R&D credit, which has been in place for more than 25 years, expired at the end of 2005. It is a critical and effective federal incentive, vital to maintaining U.S. competitiveness, and one of the primary reasons that the United States currently leads the world in bioscience research and development. For many bioscience and medical technology companies now operating on a global basis, the decision is not whether to invest in research and development, but in which of their facilities the project will be located. The absence of a long term and dependable federal credit creates a significant disincentive for locating new research projects in the U.S.
“Failure to extend and strengthen the R&D credit before the close of the 109th Congress will have serious negative consequences for American companies. If the R&D credit is not retroactively extended and strengthened by Dec. 31, 2006, companies will be required to state their annual year-end earnings reflecting the full impact of a higher tax rate due to the fact that the credit has lapsed. As such, failure to immediately and retroactively extend the R&D credit prior to adjournment will adversely impact annual earnings-per-share for all companies who would have otherwise claimed the credit. For highly research-intensive bioscience and medical technology companies, particularly those that must raise funds in the capital markets, this could seriously destabilize their position in the marketplace.
“Additionally, since the inception of the R&D credit, numerous states have enacted their own incentives pegged to the amount claimed under the federal credit. State governments increasingly realize that they are no longer competing just within the U.S. to attract research activity. Governments around the world have created the necessary infrastructure and are now offering U.S. companies highly competitive and valuable long-term, contractual incentives to attract new investments in research and related manufacturing facilities.”
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The full text of the letter can be viewed at www.bio.org/tax/r%26d/11142006.pdf.
BIO Mid-America VentureForum showcases best in Midwest
Eight Ohio-based companies presented at the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) Mid-America VentureForum held September 25-27 at the InterContinental Hotel in Cleveland. These companies were among more than 50 Midwestern companies selected by venture capitalists from the nation’s leading firms who serve on BIO’s advisory board.
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| Omeris President & CEO Tony Dennis (l) and BIO President & CEO Jim Greenwood (r) with Acting Commissioner of the FDA Andrew von Eschenbach, MD, who served as the VentureForum's keynote speaker. |
Cleveland-based Arteriocyte, Inc., Cleveland-based CleveX, Toledo-based Cognitive Pharmaceuticals, Cleveland-based Copernicus Therapeutics, Inc., Cleveland-based Interventional Imaging, Columbus-based OncoImmune, Oberlin-based Synapse Biomedical, Inc., and Columbus-based Vertebration discussed their business plans and milestones before a national audience of venture capitalists and other potential investors. Ohio’s eight presenting companies surpassed the total from any other participating state.
Now in its fourth year, the investment forum was co-hosted by Omeris and seven other state bioscience associations. It marked the first time the event was held in Ohio. Previous host cities were Chicago, St. Louis, and Minneapolis.
“This meeting is important for both Ohio and the Midwest because it clearly demonstrates that highly valued, globally competitive bioscience companies are in the region, many of them right here in Ohio,” said Omeris President & CEO Tony Dennis. “It also validates the momentum Ohio is experiencing in both investment dollars raised and bioscience companies launched, especially northeast Ohio.”
Omeris taps Ohio-based publisher for annual magazine
Planning is well underway for the fourth annual issue of Accelerating Excellence, the official publication of bioscience in Ohio, which will "hit newstands" next April. Ohio-based BioMedia, LLC, will be the new publisher of our flagship publication.
Based in Euclid, BioMedia is a custom publishing company that produces a variety of print and electronic media for high technology, start-up, and not-for-profit organizations. Leading the effort for BioMedia is its Managing Partner, Jim O’Hare, an Omeris member. For information on advertising in Accelerating Excellence, please contact BioMedia at 216/373-7676 or jim@biomedia.us. Or you can learn more at www.ohiobiomagazine.com.
In addition to the 5,000 hard copies distributed primarily at out-of-state bioscience events, Accelerating Excellence also is downloaded an average of 500 times every months via the Omeris web site.
To check out our first three issues, visit the Learning Center page (www.omeris.org/learning) on the Omeris web site.
New Omeris members
The Omeris membership rolls continue to grow, and the networking between members is very encouraging.
New Omeris Members since late August:
- Aetion Technologies LLC
- NeoMed Technologies, Inc.
- Synapse Biomedical, Inc.
- Hybrid Marketing
- Media II, Inc.
- PhageVax, Inc.
- IKOtech, LLC
- Applied Biomolecular Technologies
- Chubb Group of Insurance Companies
- RAPID MR International
- Praxair Distribution, Inc.
- Denville Scientific, Inc.
- Bettie Sogor
- Keith Johanns
- David Baldwin
- Yimei Chen
View full member list.
Members: Look for our annual Member Survey in your inbox next week.
Non-members: To learn more about the advantages of becoming a member, check out our Member Benefits page.
Bioscience events in Ohio
Event “season” is giving way to the holiday season, but there are a couple upcoming events worth mentioning, and attending.
Surpassing Excellence in Clinical Research
December 8 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Cleveland. Organized by Omeris member Clinical Research Management, Inc., and featuring Omeris President & CEO Tony Dennis as keynote speaker. (Registration discount for Omeris members).
Ohio Valley Affiliates for Life Sciences (OVALS) Annual Conference
Translational Research and Innovation: Putting Technology Ideas to Work
March 5-6, 2007, at Kingsgate Conference Hotel in Cincinnati
For details on these and other Ohio bioscience events: www.omeris.org/programs/events.asp
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