An unprecedented push to leverage Ohio’s health-care assets is coalescing around three concepts: a forum for entrepreneurs to pitch Ohio-developed medical products; a statewide collaboration on clinical trials; and shared data storage for medical imaging and genomics.

Industry officials discussed those initiatives yesterday as part of Gov. John Kasich’s vision for a statewide medical corridor. They had met in private on Wednesday.

By September, officials hope to have in place a “Choose Ohio” forum at which Ohio medical-device manufacturers can pitch new products to medical institutions, said Baiju Shah, president and CEO of BioEnterprise in Cleveland, which works with institutions to form businesses and commercialize bioscience technologies. Those products would be vetted before the presentations, he said. Officials hope six products will be presented to a panel of medical institutions each quarter, but the frequency of those forums will hinge on demand, Shah said.

“If we can assist them by giving them the platform to present … I think we’ll attract entrepreneurs from other parts of the country here to set up their businesses,” Shah said.

The state also is home to three centers designated by the National Institutes of Health for clinical research: Ohio State University, Case Western Reserve University and the University of Cincinnati. Medical-school officials are interested in launching a statewide clinical-trials platform that could give patients quicker access to innovative treatments and give Ohio an advantage in attracting clinical studies, Shah said.

One way the three institutions might work together is creating a common institutional-review-board approval process, said Dr. Steven Gabbe, CEO of the Wexner Medical Center at Ohio State University.

The schools have complementary strengths, and areas of collaboration could include research into cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, Gabbe said.

Another idea still under analysis is to create shared storage for medical imaging and genomics data. It wasn’t clear whether such a shared system would be managed by a nonprofit or a for-profit entity, Shah said.

Officials on Wednesday also heard an update on a pediatric research collaborative focusing on asthma and babies born with addiction. The state has given $2 million toward that research.

Kasich spokesman Rob Nichols said the following institutions have taken part in medical corridor meetings: Austen BioInnovation Institute in Akron, Battelle, BioEnterprise, Case Western Reserve University, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cleveland Clinic, OhioHealth, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Ohio State’s Wexner Medical Center, University Hospital in Cincinnati, University Hospitals in Cleveland, University of Toledo Medical Center and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base’s human-performance wing.

Battelle and Wright-Patterson are not involved in the “Choose Ohio” initiative, Nichols said. Battelle is not a hospital, and Wright-Patterson must follow federal guidelines.

Economist Bill Adams thinks U.S. companies should look to Asia, not Europe, for growth opportunities in the coming years.

The senior international economist for PNC Financial Services Group Inc.    PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Latest from The Business Journals Pittsburgh’s largest public companies saw mixed 1Q resultsFeeling a bit flush, banks up dividends to shareholdersPNC Foundation donates 0,000 to 17 area organizations Follow this company in Pittsburgh writes and speaks about emerging markets, the European Union, Asia, Canada and Latin America, but he especially is attuned to the red-hot economy in China. Adams earlier worked as an economist for the Conference Board China Center in Beijing, where he learned how the Chinese economy ticks.

Adams thinks the U.S. economy likely is to continue its slow but steady recovery, with opportunities growing for U.S. companies in emerging markets.

Adrian Burns’ continued Q&A with Adams is available in the May 11 edition of Columbus Business First.

The Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED) Board of Trustees today announced the selection and approval of Signet Development as the developer for the residential housing village to be constructed on the NEOMED campus.

The residential housing village serves as a lead component of the nearly $130 million campus expansion project to transform the University footprint over the next two years and make a significant economic impact to Portage County. The project is projected to bring hundreds of construction jobs to the area.

“We are proud to announce Signet Development as the developer for this component of our campus expansion project,” said John Wray, vice president of administration and finance at NEOMED. “The tremendous expertise, innovative ideas and collaborative nature they bring to this project is necessary to the successful development of our University’s first residential housing offering, and we are excited to watch the next steps of this project unfold.”

Groundbreaking for the residential housing village is slated for June with an estimated completion date of August 2013 in time for the start of the new academic year. Three, four-story buildings will make up the 270,000-square-foot village, and will feature nearly 350 single and double, fully furnished rooms, which will be available to the University community. This aspect of the University’s expansion plan alone increases the existing 450,000-square-foot campus by 60 percent, significantly transforming the University’s footprint. 

In assembling this public-private partnership team, the University looked for a developer who could introduce a creative approach to the construction and work closely with the University to provide the expertise to finalize the design, assemble the necessary financial resources, and engage the contractors needed to build the facility.

“Signet Development has a wide range of development experience with specializations in health care, higher education, and public-private partnerships, which we feel is perfectly aligned with Northeast Ohio Medical University’s needs,” said Anthony S. Manna, chairman of Signet Development. “We are very pleased to be named a partner of this initiative and look forward to working with the NEOMED team on this project.”

Signet will provide NEOMED with comprehensive, turnkey development and finance services for the project, including all design, construction and management activities. Signet will be working closely with NEOMED and all project stakeholders in the coming weeks to finalize all elements of the project to break ground next month.

The village will be constructed on the northwest corner of the current NEOMED campus with private parking and paved walkways leading to the existing campus facilities. It serves as the second of several major construction projects designed to transform the growing medical university, following the 2011 groundbreaking of the four-story, 80,000-square-foot Research and Graduate Education Building designed to enhance the University’s research enterprise and foster public-private partnerships with the local business community.

Baiju Shah leads BioEnterprise, which helps locals innovate. He also chairs the new Global Cleveland, which draws talent to town.

What are your innovators like?

They’re inspiring. Our entrepreneurs all have a notion of how to improve the human condition: curing a disease, extending life, making life easier. They’re making products to diagnose cancer earlier. They’re figuring out how to reprogram nerves to allow individuals to use their hands and feet and lungs.

Are they boosting Cleveland’s coffers?

The spinning toothbrush led to a gazillion dollars coming back into Cleveland. The inventors, John Nottingham and John Spirk, also created the plastic top for the no-drip paint can. They’ve turned the old Christian Scientist church in the Heights into a cathedral of innovation.

With a punch clock in the sanctuary?

This is the new Cleveland. People are looking for a big building with a big sign like TRW. These entrepreneurs build these great small companies that can dominate their field and might be acquired by a larger company. That’s fine. They’ll create another.

Ray Dalton has had about seven companies. He’s sold almost all. Now he’s doing HeartSource in Aurora. Everyone knows Mal Mixon from Invacare, but Mal has made around 40 other investments in local companies.

Why recruit outsiders? Why not put locals to work?

The industry’s growing faster than the local trained talent. There were over 40,000 job openings posted in the Cleveland region at last report. There’s a whole range of trained, technical positions.

Global Cleveland’s a short-term solution. We’ve got to help companies continue their growth in the region and not open an office outside. The long-term solution is to align our schools faster with the new economy.

Do outsiders want in?

The talent here comes from all over the world. This is a health care mecca. We’ve helped attract a number of companies here from around the country and overseas, most notably Israel. Phillips Medical shut down an entire division in Silicon Valley and is moving it here.

Do you give tours to prospects?

I drive them around the health tech corridor. We usually have dinner down on East Fourth Street. Greenhouse is my favorite, especially on their patio. I surprise individuals with how rich an array of resources we have: restaurants, arts and culture.

What do they say?

“Wow!” They had no idea. People are blown away by our restaurants. The quality of food here is up with the best cities in the country.

And a bit cheaper?

A lot cheaper, a lot easier to get a table at, and a lot easier to park at.

Tell us about your family.

I’m from Mayfield. My wife’s from Boston: Koyen Parikh Shah. We met at Yale. There began my campaign to bring her to Cleveland. She was the first Global Clevelander from my perspective. We ended up in Malaysia first, then Cleveland.

She helped start the Aspire program at Hathaway Brown to assist fifth-grade girls from Cleveland and East Cleveland to become the first in the family to go to college. Then she started the Center for Girls’ and Women’s Leadership at HB for middle and high school girls.

Where do you take your two girls?

We have this very geeky activity called letter boxing: hunting for hidden little boxes. It’s like geocaching for littler kids, without the technology. Cleveland is definitely a letter-boxing hot spot. That reflects our great parks.

Our favorite restaurant is High Thai on Coventry. A great entrepreneur [Tony Chaichana, with partners] bought the business — a Case Western grad, fairly young. It’s the best Thai food outside San Francisco.

Does Cleveland welcome entrepreneurs?

My entrepreneurs are shocked at how accessible this town is. Do you want to see the lead clinician in this field or that? Go in and meet them. The government here is accessible.

Everyone knows everyone. Everyone is engaged. It’s a very flat society. Our 1 percenters still drive their own cars. It’s very tightly knit but very welcoming.

If you’ve got an idea about how to make this region better, you can get support, funding, resources and partners to see that idea come to fruition. It doesn’t matter if you’re twentysomething or eightysomething. The doors are open for all.

Quantum Health, a health care management company, plans to invest more than $3 million on expansion of its Columbus, Ohio, facility at 7450 Huntington Park Drive, adding more than 525 jobs to its 230 employee workforce.

The firm plans to hire registered nurses and patient service representatives, as well as information technology, marketing, customer engagement and other support positions.

“At Quantum Health, we’re on a mission to simplify and transform healthcare in this country. We have been very successful at effectively applying consumer behavior strategies for our healthcare clients,” said Kara Trott, Quantum Health’s founder.

“The demand for our services grew at an extremely fast pace, and prompted the exploration of expansion options. As a business we evaluated the best location to undertake our growth, either in the Columbus Region or locations outside of Ohio. The support offered through the City of Columbus, Franklin County and the State of Ohio played an important role in our location decision,” Trott said. Ultimately this will allow us to continue to provide exceptional service to our clients, resulting in dramatically higher member engagement and greater cost savings.”

Kenny McDonald, chief economic officer, Columbus 2020, said “we’re proud to see one of the Columbus Region’s existing companies make an even longer-term investment in the region, adding hundreds of job opportunities. Our hope is to continue to make the Columbus Region an ideal spot for companies looking to relocate or expand in a stable regional economy.”

“Visionary businesses like Quantum Health are what make Columbus the best city for jobs in the Midwest,” said Mayor Michael B. Coleman. “This expansion further strengthens our economy while providing new employment opportunities for our residents.”

Over the next three years a portion of the region’s funding incentives will finance a job training program at the facility. Along with the state, Franklin County is also investing $75,000 towards the program.

Quantum Health, a Columbus-based healthcare company, is expanding its headquarters and adding more than 500 new jobs.

Governor John Kasich and Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman joined company officials for the formal announcement Monday afternoon.

The company will create at least 525 full-time jobs, more than doubling its healthcare workforce of the future over the next three years.

The company was still being courted by Texas and Colorado in March when the Ohio Tax Credit Authority offered an eight-year, 60-percent tax credit to create 525 new jobs.  Quantum President Randy Gebhardt said the company’s business plan has always projected offices in other states.  “So for us it was a real struggle because from an operating standpoint, there are some advantages to having multiple offices in other states,” Gebhardt said. “The state (Ohio) convinced us that financially its advantageous to have all of our people in one place in Ohio,”

Quantum Health contracts with employers to help its employees navigate health care and health care coverage. The company currently employs about 230 employees.

Governor John Kasich says the company simplifies the health care process and ultimately saves money. “If you can squeeze the waste out and it means you can continue to get the same level of health care that’s being provided for you in a more rational way – it’s what I think everybody in America wants – to make it simple for me.”

Responding to the rapidly growing demand for its high-tech, patient-centric services, Quantum Health expects to generate an additional $24.6 million in annual payroll by hiring additional experienced nurses and patient service representatives, as well as information technology, marketing, customer engagement and other support positions.

http://www2.nbc4i.com/news/2012/apr/30/525-new-health-jobs-88623-vi-40530/
 

The Timken Co.’s $225 million investment in its Faircrest plant, south of Canton, is welcome news for the region and state. The installation of new steelmaking equipment, a continuous casting machine that will produce more efficiently high-quality steel alloys, will allow the plant to meet increased demand from a variety of markets, assuring its future.

The caster and other, related improvements are expected to increase capacity by 25 percent. Part of the increase will go to the energy industry, feeding the drilling rigs searching for oil and natural gas in Ohio’s shale formations. But Timken steel also goes to companies such as Caterpillar, which supply equipment all over the world.

Timken’s long-term willingness to invest in technology and training has been the hallmark of its success, the steelmaking component last year generating $2 billion, or nearly three times the entire company’s revenue at the time the Faircrest plant was built in the 1980s. After initially rejecting a new labor agreement, members of the United Steelworkers did their part, approving contract terms the company needed to move forward.

Although Ohio’s jobs picture is mixed, manufacturing is growing, its rebound helping generate spinoff jobs throughout the economy. That is certainly the case with the Faircrest plant, where the work force of 375 is not expected to increase, but whose increased productivity will boost employment in energy and other industries.

When the Faircrest plant was built in 1982, many considered it a gamble. Thirty years later, the payoff continues to be evident.

Spectra Energy Corp has been named to Corporate Responsibility Magazine’s prestigious “100 Best Corporate Citizens List” for 2012, ranking seventh overall, and first among energy companies. The company also ranked second for its climate change efforts on the annual list, which is recognized as a leading assessment of corporate responsibility performance.

“We’re honored to be recognized as a Best Corporate Citizen and proud to be ranked first among energy companies,” said Greg Ebel, president and chief executive officer, Spectra Energy Corp. “Our inclusion on this list is a true testament to our employees’ ongoing commitment and accountability for making sustainable choices that represent the best in economic, environmental and social values and practices.”

Spectra Energy Corp, a FORTUNE 500 company, is one of North America’s premier natural gas infrastructure companies serving three key links in the natural gas value chain: gathering and processing, transmission and storage, and distribution. For more than a century, Spectra Energy and its predecessor companies have developed critically important pipelines and related infrastructure connecting natural gas supply sources to premium markets. Based in Houston, Texas, the company’s operations in the United States and Canada include more than 19,000 miles of transmission pipeline, approximately 305 billion cubic feet of storage, as well as natural gas gathering and processing, natural gas liquids and local distribution operations. The company also has a 50 percent ownership in DCP Midstream, one of the largest natural gas gatherers and processors in the United States. Spectra Energy is a member of the Dow Jones Sustainability World and North America Indexes and the U.S. S&P 500 Carbon Disclosure Project’s Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index. For more information, visit www.spectraenergy.com.

Columbus City Council made a smart choice on Monday night in granting a tax break to help redevelop the vacant Cooper Stadium property. The 10-year, 75 percent property-tax abatement to Arshot Investment Corp. to develop the Sports Pavilion and Automotive Research Center in Franklinton is a good deal for residents and taxpayers.

Franklin County will be able to sell the 47-acre complex for $3.4 million — proceeds that originally had been counted on to build a new ballpark, which opened three years ago this week. Despite advertising the property for sale nationally, no one else stepped forward.

Arshot promises to invest up to $40 million to create a likely tourist attraction and more than 300 jobs. That will generate revenues for construction and hospitality businesses and produce income taxes, sales taxes and property taxes for local schools and government services.

Even with the abatement, worth about $2.5 million over 10 years, the city will reap nearly $1 million in net income taxes and property taxes. And Columbus City Schools will receive $575,670 in new taxes during the abatement period on a property that, under county ownership, paid no taxes. Those figures are based on the initial investment of $16.4 million, and could grow as the project is developed.

But the analysis of the abatement also has to include what can’t be quantified: The opportunity to turn a heretofore unsellable W. Mound Street property into an economic engine and revitalize the West Side.

The concept includes a grandstand, racetrack, conference center, exhibition space, restaurants, hotel and automotiveresearch facilities and classrooms. This development has the potential to position Columbus as a leader in the American automobile industry as engineers test new vehicles, engine designs and fuel systems.

Arshot has worked long and hard to address neighborhood concerns. Residents will sit on an advisory board and assist with decisions on design, sound walls and landscaping. Arshot also agreed to a legally-binding good neighbor agreement to limit hours of operation and to monitor noise.

The council, having done its due diligence, ends the prolonged purchase process with this abatement and makes a worthy public investment in central Ohio’s future.

Elected officials and Timken Co. executives touted it as proof that manufacturing jobs are returning to Ohio.

Monday morning the company officially broke ground on a $225 million expansion at the Faircrest steel mill that includes the first jumbo bloom vertical caster in North America.

It’s a symbol of rebirth in American manufacturing, Chairman Ward J. “Tim” Timken Jr., said Monday, then added: “But rebirth is only the appropriate word if you believe manufacturing went away.”

Timken Co. kept manufacturing here, turning out tapered roller bearings and steel, Timken said. Since 2006 the company has announced investments totaling nearly $500 million aimed at improving local steel production.

The company already is constructing a $35 million forge press, designed to enhance the consistency of Timken’s special bar steel. It has finished an ultrasonic test inspection line that cost $5 million. The vertical caster is the key piece to the new project, along with a ladle refiner.

Manufacturing is coming back to America, Gov. John R. Kasich told the crowd.

“And it ought to be back in America. That’s because Americans make things better than anybody else,” Kasich said.

BETTING THE FARM

The expansion at Faircrest comes 30 years after Timken announced plans to build the steel mill on farmland south of Canton.

Timken credited his uncles and grandfather for being visionary and bucking the trend of moving manufacturing out of Ohio. Instead, the company invested $450 million to build a modern steel mill.

“They bet the farm with that investment,” Timken said. “We have proved the critics wrong.”

Timken’s steel sales in 2011 reached $2 billion, or nearly triple the company’s total annual sales during the early 1980s. The company melted 1.7 million tons of scrap steel, the equivalent of about 1 million junk cars, and turned out nearly 1 million tons of steel.

Expanding Faircrest’s capacity will increase the plant’s capacity by 25 percent. Faircrest also will produce a broader range of large-diameter bars.

Three key markets — mining, oil and gas drilling and mechanical parts — are driving increased demand for Timken steel, said Salvatore J. Miraglia Jr., steel operations president. “Existing markets are rebounding and growing.”

PLENTY OF HELP

The expansion didn’t come without help.

Joining a cadre of elected officials on the dais and making comments were Joe Hoagland, president of United Steelworkers Local 1123, and Dennis Brommer, a Steelworkers subdistrict director. They helped negotiate a union contract that paved way for the project.

Hoagland read contract language noting the long relationship between Timken and the Steelworkers. There have been difficult moments, he said, but the two sides have found ways to work together.

“It’s the compromise that comes out of collective bargaining, the fruit, if you will … ,” Hoagland said.

Timken officials thanked the union, Kasich and the Ohio Department of Development for taking steps that made the expansion possible.

U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Cincinnati, commended Kasich for “doing in Ohio what they should be doing in Washington, D.C., balancing budgets and creating jobs.”

OIL ONE REASON

Increased drilling of shale rock formations — the Utica in eastern Ohio and the Marcellus in Pennsylvania, for example — has led to more demand for Timken steel, Miraglia said. About 25 percent of the steel Timken produces is used in drilling to make bits and other equipment.

With that in mind, Portman noted that the federal government should stay out of the way and not create regulations that might hinder future drilling. “The government needs to create a better climate for growth.”

After the ceremony, Portman spent time with reporters fielding questions about speculation that he is being considered as a running mate by Mitt Romney — the likely Republican Party presidential nominee.

Portman repeated comments he’s made about helping Ohio and Romney by remaining in the Senate. After being asked several times about whether he’s been offered the No. 2 slot on the ticket, Portman finally told reporters, “I’m not going to go there.”

WHAT THEY SAID

A parade of speakers had a few moments Monday morning at groundbreaking ceremonies for the expansion of Timken Co.’s Faircrest steel mill. Here’s what they had to say.

Ohio Gov. John R. Kasich: “This company’s had a vision for all these years, otherwise they wouldn’t be here.”

U.S. Sen. Rob Portman: “We need to find ways to work together to be competitive globally.”

Dennis Brommer, United Steelworkers executive: “We commend Timken for investing… It means a lot to this area, this community.”

U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci, R-Wadsworth, 16th District: “Timken again is engaging in opportunity for the district.”

U.S. Rep. Bob Gibbs, R-Lakeville, 7th District: “This investment will be here for another 100 years.”

Ohio Speaker of the House William G. Batchelder, R-Medina: “What a remarkable family and business Timken has been for the United States of America.”