ROTARY EXPLORES BIOMEDICAL INDUSTRY

The Rotary Club of Hudson learned about the accomplishments of the Northeast Ohio Biomedical Industry from speaker Jim Weisman, CEO in residence of BioEnterprise. This session is the first in a month-long series on Health and Wellness.

                                                                                 

Mr. Weisman pointed out that Ohio is a top state for biomedical venture capital, raising over $200 million of private investments in the last 5 years. This effort is engendered by extensive biomedical research in area hospitals and universities such as Cleveland Clinic and Case Western Reserve. The desire is to emulate the Research Triangle in Minneapolis, a leader in healthcare innovation.

 

BioEnterprise adheres to a “market back approach” for private investments including:

BioEnterprise does not take equity positions in the enterprise, only facilitating the fundraising process. Using this approach, BioEnterprise has grown over 240 companies in the region since its inception.

 

Mr. Weisman cited various successes for the region including Explorys, a health data spin out from Cleveland Clinic purchased by IBM and another enterprise sold to McKesson for over $1 billion. He indicated that growth of the healthcare/biomedical sector is an important part of Cleveland’s renaissance and Cleveland is leading the way in life science investments.

 

Mr. Weisman has a great interest in developing future science graduates in regional high schools and colleges with an emphasis on more data scientists.

 

For information about future Rotary Club of Hudson weekly speakers, please check www.rotaryhudson.org.