NE Ohio’s Biomedical Field Has Grown 59% Since 2000

CLEVELAND ­– Since the start of the 21st century, the biomedical industry in northeastern Ohio has grown 59%, according to a report by economic development organization Team Northeast Ohio.

Since 2003, the region has had 448 biomedical startups with $2.3 billion invested. The companies have raised $198 million in funding. Most of that money has been in the medical device field, where 28 companies have made 37 deals. The biotechnology and health information technology fields ranked second and third the $58 million and $50 million raised, respectively.

That growth has outpaced most other industries, Team NEO says, which have remained relatively flat.

The data was announced in the quarterly Cleveland Plus Economic Review to develop “a holistic picture” of the economy in the 18 counties Team NEO works in.

“Our biomedical industry benefits from northeastern Ohio’s talented individuals, its world-class institutions, its strong support system for entrepreneurs and start-ups and its globally competitive manufacturing sector,” said CEO Bill Koehler. “We have confidence that the industry will continue to flourish here as our region applies its expertise in areas such as additive manufacturing as well as smart devices and systems to biomedical applications.”

The review found that total employment in the 18-county area – which includes the Cleveland, Akron, Mansfield and Youngstown metro areas – was 1.88 million in the first quarter, up 17,000 from last year. That shift has dropped unemployment to 6%, down 0.2% from last year.

The service sector added nearly 19,000 in the first quarter over last year, bringing the total employment in that field to 1.3 million. Meanwhile, the construction industry added 3,000 jobs as year-over-year totals dropped 5,000.

The data for the report comes from Moody’s Economy.com, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and Ohio’s Labor Marketing Information.

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