2010

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Cleveland's going up: New projects, pioneers poised to give city a lift: Joe Frolik
December 25, 2010
Summary: You might call me crazy -- don't worry, you won't be the first -- but I think that in 10 years, we will look back on 2010 as the year that Cleveland turned the corner and began to regain its status as a vibrant American city. The Census Bureau report that came out last week was the latest grim reminder of how far this region has fallen. While the population of the United States rose 9.7 percent in the past 10 years, Ohio's was almost flat. That'll cost the state two congressional seats. At least one will disappear from Greater Cleveland.
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Cleveland medical mart project to break ground in January
December 10, 2010
Summary: The long-awaited groundbreaking for Cleveland’s $465 million medical mart project will be… drum roll, please… Jan. 14, 2011. The ceremonial turning of the ground “on the historic Cleveland Malls” will happen at 11 a.m. that Friday, according to MMPI, the Chicago-based property developer that’s leading the project. The event, which also will feature remarks from civic, business and government leaders, is free and open to the public. Construction on the Cleveland Medical Mart & Convention Center will begin before that date, however — on Jan. 3.
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Forging Deals with U.S. Partners: A Case of Mutual Benefit
December 01, 2010
Summary: After inventing the ReWalk, a device that allows paraplegics to move about in an upright position, in 2006, Amit Goffer, the CEO of Israel-based Argo Medical Technologies, needed a partner to secure funding for clinical trials and to provide access to technical support. So Goffer looked to the United States, where a rehabilitation hospital was interested in testing the product. Through various connections, Argo partnered with Allied Orthotics and Prosthetics in Mount Laurel, N.J. The two companies are now running clinical trials, and the ReWalk is expected to soon be ready for sale to the public. "We looked into it and thought it could be a profitable venture for us," said Howard Brand, managing partner of Allied Orthotics. A device to help paraplegics walk had not been available previously, so the product was "important to an industry and to people."
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Chinese Invest Big In Akron Tech Company
November 22, 2010
Summary: Chinese investors are sinking millions of dollars into a start-up medical technology company in Akron. ideastream's Bill Rice reports it's being touted as one of the largest single investments in Northeast Ohio's growing biomedical manufacturing sector. The deal brings an infusion of 18 million dollars to FMI Technologies to design and manufacture new high-tech medical imaging devices in Akron’s Biomedical Corridor. It was finalized during a recent trip to China by Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic and several other city officials, including Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Bob Bowman, who describes the device this way.
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Now it's a real deal: Cuyahoga County and MMPI Inc. sign closing documents on Cleveland medical mart and convention center
November 19, 2010
Summary: Break out the construction fences. Get ready for earth movers and cranes. And say goodbye to the downtown Cleveland Mall as we know it. On Thursday, the medical mart and new convention center proposed for downtown Cleveland switched from imagination to reality. The signing of closing documents by Cuyahoga County and its private-sector partner, MMPI Inc. of Chicago, marked the project's true beginning. It also concluded an often ugly and contentious five years of planning.
Continue Reading Now it's a real deal: Cuyahoga County and MMPI Inc. sign closing documents on Cleveland medical mart and convention center
Medical Entrepreneurship: A Cure for What's Ailing Health Care?
November 09, 2010
Summary: Health care is on most everyone's minds these days, from soaring costs to the government's proper role in the industry. The future of health care is hard to gauge, but one thing seems certain: The prognosis for entrepreneurs in health care-related fields is decidedly upbeat. Small businesses are gaining a foothold in a broad array of medical technology and health care industries. In a recent study of the fastest-growing industries by Sageworks, a Raleigh, North Carolina, financial analysis company, it was found that three of the top 10 categories are health care-related: home health care, pharmaceutical and medical manufacturing, and outpatient care.
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VC funds still flowing to startups
November 08, 2010
Summary: Northeast Ohio startups say it's still tough to find venture capital. Somehow, though, they're starting to find it. Local companies raised $143 million in venture capital during the first three quarters of 2010, more than double the $63 million raised through the third quarter of 2009, according to figures from startup business development group JumpStart Inc. More capital is on the way: North Coast Angel Fund, a group of individuals who finance high-tech companies in the region, last Thursday, Nov. 4, was scheduled to put $4 million into its second fund, which could grow to $8 million. Plus, the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System has committed another $100 million to the Ohio-Midwest Fund, which invests in venture capital and private equity funds throughout the state.
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U.S. Endoscopy prepares simultaneously for growth and a possible shortage of workers
October 27, 2010
Summary: U.S. Endoscopy, a provider of niche diagnostic, therapeutic and support accessories used in the gastrointestinal endoscopy and urology markets, has grown dramatically in recent years at its headquarters SriCity in Mentor, Ohio, just outside of Cleveland. The company sells its products around the globe. “We focus on something very unique in the industry,” says Tony Siracusa, the company’s chief operating officer. U.S. Endoscopy, which was formed in 1991, plans to add 150 employees to its 350-person work force over the next three years. Siracusa says Mentor has been a good base for the company, which operates a 60,000-sq.-ft. (5,574-sq.-m.) manufacturing facility along with office and warehouse space. To accommodate its growth, the company estimates it will need to add 70,000 sq. ft. (6,503 sq. m.) of space in the coming years.
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EarlySense raises $7M for patient monitoring system
October 20, 2010
Summary: EarlySense has raised $7 million in investment funding to continue commercializing its patient monitoring system for hospitals and acute care centers, bringing its fundraising for the year to an impressive $20 million. The company’s EverOn system already has received regulatory clearance for sale in the United States and European Union, and the new funding will be used to “accelerate the global launch” of the system, according to a statement from the company.
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NI Medical’s technology to be used in big European heart study
October 19, 2010
Summary: NI Medical‘s diagnostic device will be used in a far-ranging European Union-funded clinical study of heart disease and heart failure patients. The company’s NICaS Cardiac Surveyor uses impedance technology to measure heart health. The device measures several blood circulation data points, including stroke volume, cardiac output, peripheral resistance and respiratory rate. The NICaS device is designed to help diagnose heart failure — which occurs when the heart can’t pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs — in its early stages. NI Medical was founded in Israel, and earlier this year, it set up a U.S. base of operations in Akron, Ohio. The company has just one employee in Akron — Chief Operating Officer Tom Hitchcock — but it plans to add more shortly and eventually base its international sales team in Northeast Ohio, Hitchcock said.
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