REP. SUTTON APPLAUDS 'TECH BELT' INITIATIVE
BYLINE: US Fed News
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
Rep. Betty Sutton, D-Ohio (13th CD), has issued the following news release:
Today Rep. Betty Sutton applauded the recently announced cooperative effort between BioEnterprise and the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse (PLSG-two medical consortiums comprising businesses, hospitals and Universities in Northeast Ohio and Western Pennsylvania-that will work to revitalize the Cleveland/Pittsburgh region's economy. Sutton, who has been a vocal leader in Congress about the need to develop a new trade model to help attract new investment in local economies that lifts up businesses and workers, welcomed the announcement stating:
"This initiative is a model for the region in helping attract new types of investment that will transform our region into a revolutionary "tech belt," said Sutton. "Initiatives like this will be critical to revitalize our economy and allow us to compete more effectively in a global economy, while creating quality jobs."
The region is home to over 700 bioscience companies that employs more than 25,000 people and sees more over $1 billion a year in National Institute of Health and industry research each year. Since 2005 over $350 million in venture capital has led to new medical device, biopharmaceutical and health care startups.
BioEnterprise (based in Cleveland and Akron, OH) and PLSG (based in Pittsburgh, PA) announced the cooperative effort yesterday at a conference they sponsored entitled: "Northeast Ohio's Booming Health Care Economy: New Strategies for Continued Growth." The goal of the collaboration is to utilize the region's impressive collective resources to attract new investment and opportunities to help bolster the region's economy.
BioEnterprise is headed by Baiju Shah and is a business formation, recruitment, and acceleration effort designed to support the growth of bioscience companies throughout Northeast Ohio. It provides management counsel and support services to health care companies through partnerships with Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals, and Summa Health System. Technology partners include the NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland State University, NorTech, and BioOhio. The Case Office of Technology Transfer, Cleveland Clinic Innovations, University Hospitals Case Medical Center - Center for Clinical Research, and Summa Enterprise Group all contribute to this initiative.
Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse is headed by John Manzetti and provides investment and business growth programs to increase the linkage between research, technology and commercialization; nurture and develop entrepreneurial biosciences enterprises; foster the growth in the region's talent pool in life sciences; and help biosciences firms locate, expand or start-up in the Greater Pittsburgh area. It was founded by the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, UPMC Health System, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and its regional foundation community.
Contact: Linden Zakula, 202/225-3401.