Central Ohio Companies Contributing to Ohio’s Emergence as a Global Leader in Bioscience

Known for decades as a manufacturing state, Ohio is positioning itself to emerge from the recession as an innovative leader in the jobs market. A recent Forbes article ranked Columbus third in the nation for technology jobs with very optimistic outlooks for other major Ohio cities.

A key contributing factor is the commitment Ohio has made to the state's bioscience industry.  The bioscience industry is Ohio's fastest-growing industry in virtually all ways, according to Anthony Dennis, president and CEO of BioOhio, the state's economic development agency for biosciences. "Every year, our bioscience companies and research institutions create jobs, export products and services, and deliver game-changing treatments to the marketplace and, most importantly, to patients," said Dennis.

Each day, Ohio bioscience organizations contribute to technological advances benefiting the health and well-being of people around the world.  Emerging in the Columbus area recently are two examples: Touch Bionics, maker of the i-limb advanced prosthesis, and Nanofiber Solutions. Both companies have made headlines with their innovative advances. Touch Bionic’s i-limb was recently featured on TV’s Extreme Makeover:  Home Edition when 16-year-old Wyzhir Johnson, who lost his left hand while working on a home improvement project, starred on the show.

And in November, Nanofiber Solutions, an Ohio State spin-off, played a key role in the world's second successful synthetic trachea transplant (the first one to use nanofibers). The Columbus firm designed and built the nanofiber tracheal scaffold in which a cancer patient's own stem cells were grown before the transplantation in Stockholm. 30-year-old, Christopher Lyles, from Baltimore, Maryland is making a good recovery. "It is an honor to contribute to this life-saving procedure," Nanofiber Solutions CEO Ross Kayuha said. "Successfully implanting a synthetic trachea using a patient's own stem cells is a significant milestone for regenerative medicine."

For more details on the growing bioscience industry in Ohio, see the story from Ohio Means Business: 
http://www.ohiomeansbusiness.com/newsroom/press-releases/single-press-re...