BioEnterprise Inc., the bioscience venture developer in Northeast Ohio, has formalized a partnership with Team NEO to woo new medical imaging, neurostimulation, cardiovascular device and orthopedic companies to the region.
Both nonprofits work in Northeast Ohio and sometimes they bump against each other or duplicate efforts, said Annette Ballou, director of strategic marketing and communications for BioEnterprise. So the two organizations developed a strategic plan to jointly attract companies in these four industries.
“We’re going to be the front-runners,” Ballou said. “We’ll do the cold calls, the meet-and-greets” with out-of-region companies. “We’ll pull Team NEO in when we find a company that’s interested in moving here. BioEnterprise is the industry expert in these areas. We’re not the relocation expert.”
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But Team NEO is. “This was the natural progression between two partners that have different areas of expertise but a common goal–to advance the region’s economy,” said Carin Rockind, vice president of marketing and communications for Team NEO.
“Collectively, we’ve been able to do a lot together,” Rockind said. Now, it’s time to take the relationship another step. “Let’s have joint metrics and leverage both of our skills … to increase the number of leads from medical device companies, converting those leads into new company attractions and new job creation,” she said.
Founded in 2002 by the Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals, Case Western Reserve University and Summa Health System, BioEnterprise forms, develops and recruits bioscience companies. The organization that now includes the Austen BioInnovation Institute in Akron also helps organizations commercialize their bioscience technologies. Its president and chief executive, Baiju Shah, is known for his tireless networking with venture capitalists worldwide to bring them together with local companies.
Team NEO, which also goes by the name Cleveland Plus Business, especially outside the region, markets Northeast Ohio and attracts companies here. Started in 2005, the organization uses its economic research to market the region to site selectors, real estate consultants and companies. It also connects relocating companies with state and local incentives, such as tax credits for creating jobs.
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In recent years, Team NEO has concentrated on building research in industrial sectors, such as biomedical. The organization also has developed a working relationship with the Global Cardiovascular Innovation Center (GCIC), the state’s only Wright Mega-Center of Innovation that is funded by the Ohio Third Frontier project and led by the Cleveland Clinic. Team NEO’s Tom Sudow is the vice president of attraction who works solely on behalf of the cardiovascular innovation center.
BioEnterprise is involved with the GCIC, too. But while the bio organization might contribute academic, clinical, technology transfer and venture funding expertise to companies launching in the center, Team NEO would supply the site selection, tax incentive, supply chain and workforce talent.
Late last year, the organizations quietly launched a Web page that reflects their joint biomedical company recruitment effort. “We’re looking at this being a model” for partnerships in other industries, Rockind said.