You may not have heard of it, but bioscience (a mix of engineering, chemistry and biology) is breaking new ground from Ohio to around the world.
"It's not a long-term field like physics or chemistry that has been around for decades," said Jed Johnson, a PhD and recent Ohio State graduate.
But with his job, Johnson is saving and changing lives. In just two years, Johnson's Nanofiber Solution business has helped develop a new type of trachea. The invention was recently implanted in a Maryland man who may not have survived without it.
"The clinical world and the real world needed a solution," said Johnson. "First one in the world using a nanofiber trachea."
More than 400 businesses from around the state are members of BioOhio, reported ONN's Denise Alex.
"For the last 10 years, we've been able to document that Ohio bioscience employment has grown 19.5 percent," said Matt Schutte.
From companies like Nanofiber, with only a handful of employees, to Procter & Gamble, Johnson and Johnson, the Cleveland Clinic and more.
"Not only do we have young companies, small medical device companies and drug discovery firms, but then we have the largest established companies that are adding dozens and dozens of employees each month," said Schutte.
Schutte said that many universities like the University of Cincinnati, Kent, and Toledo are getting on board as well. He believes the Ohio academic structure would match up against any other state.
For example, an engineering research project at Ohio State led Eric Foster to invent new MRI technology.
"We've developed a new method of detecting heart disease that combines tread mill stress-testing with cardiac MRI," said Foster.
Experts say that helping turn ideas into bioscientific inventions doesn't happen overnight or without funding. Just because you scribble an idea on a napkin, how do you find out if it can work?
TechColumbus is trying to change that by putting together people and enterprises that depend on technology to achieve their business goals.
Products developed include Linebacker, which was created by a Columbus doctor. It's 260 times stronger than tape and is now used to secure IVs in hospitals around the state.
"Making a reproducible product that can reliably produce the same results time after time, whether you're in a dish in a laboratory or implanting a prosthetic device," said Johnson.
Now, these businesses are under one roof at Nanofiber Solutions and trying to put Ohio's bioscience industry on the map.
"There's a track record of success (in Ohio) so it becomes a pretty good marketing position statement," said Schutte.
Currently, there are more than 1,300 Bioscience firms that operate at 1,800 locations in Ohio.
