Ohio coming out ahead in clinical trial research;

BYLINE: Paula Schleis, Beacon Journal business writer

Industry insiders aren't surprised to hear that Ohio has a front-row seat to emerging medical technology.

But a database maintained by the U.S. National Institutes of Health can quantify that claim for the rest of us.

According to the agency's ClinicalTrials.gov Web site, there were nearly 1,700 active clinical trials going on in Ohio last week.

That means Ohio is participating in one of every six trials under way in the country, making it the most active state in the Midwest and sixth in the nation.

How does this fact benefit Ohio? Allow Baiju Shah to count the ways.

From an economic development standpoint: ``This means our clinical and research community is in the flow of the most innovative health care technologies being developed.''

From a business standpoint: ``It means our health-care institutions not only employ more people in the delivery of care, but those in recruitment of patients for the studies and those who collect and research the data.''

And from its impact on individuals: ``It gives the average person in Ohio access to leading health-care technologies far in advance of their peers in other states.''

Shah, president of BioEnterprise, a nonprofit organization that works to accelerate the bioscience industry in Northeast Ohio, said he believes most residents would agree they get good health care in this region.

``What they don't know is we have great, unsurpassed health care in our region,'' he said.

In addition to providing cutting edge technology for patients, clinical trials help create cutting edge medical professionals, said Dr. Jere Boyer, director of research administration at Summa Health Systems in Akron.

``Our training programs are emphasizing research as an important component of what a physician should know before they get out into practice,'' Boyer said.

Boyer said there are about 450 active clinical trials going on at Summa facilities this month. By comparison, in 1999 there were an average of 81 trials a month.

There are several reasons for the growth, he said, including a ``tremendous increase in medical knowledge'' that fuels a hunger for more.

But Ohio's well-established medical institutions also are benefiting from a perfect storm of academic and business collaborations, state support and private funding.

``I can't overemphasize that. We have situations now that we didn't have in '99,'' he said.

With seven medical schools in the state, the world-famous Cleveland Clinic, and a handful of other hospitals with specialized services that attract patients from afar, Ohio has long had a solid medical reputation.

But the Ohio Business Development Coalition, a nonprofit that markets the state for capital investment, also cited new partnerships for contributing to the current hyper bioscience environment.

The state's Third Frontier Project -- a $1.6 billion initiative to spur high tech economic development -- has invested $357 million in bioscience research and start-up companies since 2001.

And that has helped attract another $420 million in private investments, said Kristi Tanner, brand manager for the OBDC.

As a result, Ohio is seeing some 50 new medical-related start-up companies forming each year, she said.

While Boyer's focus is on improving our knowledge of medicine, even he can see the obvious economic impact on a region.

He's received enough inquiries from business executives who want to be close to the synergy to know if the technology is focused here, the benefits go beyond the walls of the hospital.

``It definitely increases the number of businesses coming into the community,'' he said.

Paula Schleis can be reached at 330-996-3741 or pschleis@thebeaconjournal.com