BioInnovation president touts efforts to promote health care, nurture jobs
By Cheryl Powell
Beacon Journal medical writer
Published on Friday, Feb 18, 2011
By working together, Akron's three hospital systems, its university and the region's medical school are getting national attention, the partnership's leader said during a community luncheon on Thursday.
Dr. Frank L. Douglas, president and chief executive of the Austen BioInnovation Institute in Akron (ABIA), outlined some of the initiative's future plans, as well as the successes it already has seen since its formation almost 21/2 years ago.
The institute has secured millions of dollars in state and federal research dollars and met with federal leaders, including a recent meeting with the head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, he said.
This year, he said, the institute is moving forward with plans to lead a national effort called ''Value-driven Engineering and U.S. Competitiveness'' at the request of the chief technology officer at the White House. The first summit will take place next month in Washington, D.C.
By year's end, he said, the institute will launch the Global Organization for Orthopedic and Tissue Engineering Center, an incubator where fledgling companies from across the nation and world can launch their commercialization efforts.
In addition, Douglas said, the institute wants to start a program called an ''accountable care community,'' a community-wide effort to improve ''promotion, access and delivery of health care to our citizens.''
''ABIA is an uncommon institute that is focused on exploiting the common opportunity,'' Douglas said. ''It is an unprecedented collaboration of public, private and philanthropic organizations with the common goal of transforming the health and economic well-being of the citizens of Akron and its neighbors.''
Douglas was the featured speaker during this month's Akron Roundtable event at the Quaker Station Inn in downtown Akron.
The health-care industry veteran serves as the chief strategist for the BioInnovation Institute, a partnership among Akron Children's Hospital, Akron General Health System, Summa Health System, the University of Akron and the Northeastern Ohio Universities Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy, along with the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
The BioInnovation Institute brings together the hospitals and schools to promote medical-related research, education and economic development to bring spin-off companies and jobs to the region.
Initial projects focus on combining the University of Akron's polymer and biomaterials expertise with the hospitals' and NEOUCOM's strengths in orthopedics and wound healing.
Douglas shared examples of cities and countries — from San Diego to Singapore — that have transformed their economy.
The BioInnovation Institute is following many principles that can be learned from those success stories, he said.
By coming together for a shared goal, he said, the Akron-area partners are learning to ''connect locally, think and act globally.''
''The wisdom of these visionary ABIA founders is that they instinctively focused on the 'pre-competitive space,' a space where competitors recognize that none of them alone could succeed but by working together they can achieve excellence,'' he said.
The next Akron Roundtable will take place at noon March 17, featuring Cleveland Orchestra Executive Director Gary Hanson.
Tickets are $20 each. Checks are payable to Akron Roundtable, P.O. Box 1051, Cuyahoga Falls, OH 44223. Tickets also can be ordered online at http://www.akronroundtable.org.
Cheryl Powell can be reached at 330-996-3902 or chpowell@thebeaconjournal.com.
