Contacts:
Kelly Coolbaugh
NorTech
216-241-8458
kcoolbaugh@nortech.org
Heidi Modarelli-Frank
Marcus Thomas LLC
216-514-4569
hmodarelli-frank@marcusthomasllc.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NorTech, Northeast Ohio’s leading technology based economic development organization, today announced the distribution of $1 million to support the commercialization of six projects from the Technology Leaders’ Group. The projects are being funded by a grant awarded earlier this year from the Fund for Our Economic Future, a collaboration of 80 philanthropic organizations across Northeast Ohio formed to assist in transforming the region’s economy.
Members of the Technology Leaders’ Group are from NorTech, Wright Projects and Wright Centers of Innovation throughout the region, early-stage venture funders, the Biomedical Research and Technology Transfer programs throughout Northeast Ohio, and the technology transfer offices of related healthcare institutions and universities (Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland State University, Kent State University, the Ohio Agriculture Research and Development Center and University of Akron). NorTech, whose central mission is to align and leverage the region’s technology assets to build a more globally competitive economy in Northeast Ohio, has provided leadership and oversight to the collaboration since June of 2005.
Technology projects selected for funding include:
• Imaging Transplants for Stroke Therapies - $310,000 was awarded to support a 4-way collaboration among the National Center for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine, the Case Center for Imaging Research, and local start-up companies Arteriocyte and Athersys to develop methods for improving stroke therapies.
• Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) - AMD is the leading cause of blindness in elderly Americans. $150,000 was awarded to the Cleveland Clinic to support business development and executive recruitment for up to 4 company spin-offs that will develop more effective diagnostics, therapeutics and animal models for AMD. The Cleveland Clinic has pledged to match award funds.
• Prototype Development and Company Attraction—The FlexMatters Initiative was awarded $200,000 to support collaborative prototype development of flexible displays and electrically adjustable lenses, while also attracting companies to the region. (*This grant is a follow-on investment to the $150,000 already given to establish the FlexMatters Initiative by the Fund For Our Economic Future in May 2006). The new funding will support the development of new products. Project collaborators include Kent State University, University of Akron, the Center for Multifunctional Polymer Nanomaterials and Devices (CMPND), Kent Displays Inc., AlphaMicron, Inc. and others. FlexMatters is an initiative designed to build a new industrial cluster in Northeast Ohio, based on manufacturing emerging products on flexible plastic substrates, including displays, complex electronics and solar cells.
• New Nanostructured Soft Materials for Biomedical and Commodity Applications – The Center for Multifunctional Polymer Nanomaterials and Devices (CMPND) and the University of Akron was awarded $150,000 to collaborate on a project to accelerate the commercialization of nanostructured materials and nanocomposites for biomedical and other commodity applications. This project will scale-up the synthesis of novel nanostructured rubbers based on new structures (dendritic) of polyisobutylene. The new polymers will be precursors for nanocomposites with carbon and silica nanoparticles. Several new applications with high growth potential will be evaluated.
• Fuel Cell Prototyping - $150,000 was awarded to the Wright Fuel Cell Group to build portable fuel cells created with Ohio-made products utilizing an Ohio workforce. Collaborating organizations include Case, GrafTech, HydroGen, Contained Energy, Northeast Hydrogen and Chemsultants. Because
portable fuel cells are in particularly strong demand, this investment is expected to enable rapid growth of fuel cell product lines, companies, and workforce development. This will enhance Ohio's status as a center for the industry, thereby attracting further growth.
• Agbioscience Cluster Commercialization - $40,000 was awarded to The Ohio Agriculture Research and Development Center (OARDC) to support funding for up to 5 early stage development projects, including improved animal feed, biomass to energy, and biomass conversion for chemical feedstocks.
The Fund For Our Economic Future convened the Technology Leaders’ in early 2005 to explore how Northeast Ohio could build critical mass in several distinctive technology areas, build economy-sustaining industries and leverage Third Frontier investments. In February 2006, the Fund announced its financial commitment to the Technology Leaders’ Group to accelerate development and application of Northeast Ohio’s most promising technologies. Since that time, the Technology Leaders’ Group developed, evaluated, and selected six of what they believe to be the most innovative and collaborative technology commercialization projects to help build businesses and industries of the future in Northeast Ohio.
The technology centers represented in the collaboration have been identified as some of the most distinctive and promising areas for Northeast Ohio’s future, including polymers and nanotechnology; the genetics of colon cancer; liquid crystal displays; neurostimulation/ neuromodulation; stem cells and preventive medicine (using adult-derived stem cells); biomedical imaging; fuel cells; agbiosciences; atrial fibrillation/cardiac health; nanomedicine; tissue engineering; age-related macular degeneration, and instruments/controls/electronics.
“The Technology Leaders’ Group has exceeded our initial expectations and allowed us to gain a better appreciation for the type of early-stage funding needed to move Third Frontier investments toward commercialization at the very earliest stages of imagining their market potential. These projects have also laid the foundation for thinking beyond creating one company at a time to creating new, economy-sustaining industries for our region’s future,” said Dorothy Baunach, President and Chief Executive Officer of NorTech.
”The Fund for Our Economic Future is pleased to support these projects, in an effort to spur innovation and economic growth in Northeast Ohio. The Fund believes these projects highlight some of the most promising technological advancements in the region and we look forward to seeing them develop into real economic opportunities, with our support,” said Brad Whitehead, President of the Fund For Our Economic Future and Senior Program Officer for Economic Development Initiatives at the Cleveland Foundation.
About NorTech:
NorTech’s technology and business leaders are strategic drivers of the region’s technology-based economic development agenda. The organization work’s to align and leverage regional technology assets to build a globally competitive technology economy in Northeast Ohio. NorTech promotes research, innovation, entrepreneurship and technology industry growth throughout the region for the benefit of all citizens. www.nortech.org
About the Fund For Our Economic Future:
The Fund for Our Economic Future is an unprecedented collaboration of more than 80 philanthropic organizations from across Northeast Ohio. Its goal is to encourage and advance an agenda for regional economic transformation using a three-tiered approach: grant making, public engagement and ongoing research to measure economic progress throughout the region. Since launching in February 2004, the Fund has deployed more than $35 million and has granted more than $20 million to support economic development initiatives to further its objectives. The Fund’s Web site is www.futurefundneo.org.
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