Ohio’s Innovation Districts: Solidifying the State’s Position as a Global Healthcare Leader

Ohio has long been known as a powerhouse in manufacturing innovation in the U.S., and until recently, the state has been overlooked in the areas of life science, technology, and industrial innovation and R&D. Thanks to one of the nation’s most ambitious and comprehensive economic development initiatives, that is changing. Ohio has created an Innovation Strategy designed to attract top healthcare companies, world-class researchers, and investors from around the world—and firmly establish Ohio as a global leader in future-oriented sectors.

The state is home to 14 top-ranked hospital systems and 4,100 bioscience companies, including industry heavy-hitters like Amgen, which is opening one of its most high-tech manufacturing operations in central Ohio in 2024, Sarepta, which recently opened its Genetic Therapies Center of Excellence and gained FDA clearance on its Duchene muscular dystrophy gene therapy, and Abbott, which just announced this year that it would build a $536 million manufacturing facility in Bowling Green. But to further catalyze innovation, JobsOhio, the state’s private non-profit economic development corporation, took the concept of research parks and supercharged it. JobsOhio, together with its partners, which include the state of Ohio, leading research institutions, universities, and private corporations, plan to invest $3 billion over 10 years to fuel the creation of three world-class Innovation Districts in Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Columbus.

Read the full article here.