Concept Statement
The Ohio Valley Region has the cumulative capability to become a nationally recognized center for life sciences and biotechnology. In pursuance of this goal, the University of Cincinnati, University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, Wright State University and the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson, along with their regional economic development partners (the Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce, Kentucky's Office for the New Economy, BIO/START, Lexington United, and the Health Enterprises Network of Louisville), have formed a partnership to grow and develop this industry sector.
Recognizing that academic institutions play a vital role in economic development initiatives, the four universities attract and allocate approximately $500 million per year for basic and applied research. The addition of the Human Effectiveness Directorate of the Air Force Research Laboratory adds significantly to this base. In addition, this collaborative relationship provides a number of critical elements needed to compete on a national basis. These include:
- A wide range of state of the art biomedical research facilities
- A significant number of researchers with world-class reputations
- Increased availability of capital
- A network of corporate collaborations
- Strong entrepreneurial support systems with access to know-how
- Support of state and local governments
The OVALS Initiative draws liberally from the approaches used at the national level by the Biotechnology Industry Organization [www.bio.org]. Activities include sponsoring high visibility events with opportunities for pre-commercialization and early-stage presentations by entrepreneurs as well as basic science and business networking opportunities. OVALS also provides a mechanism for linking academic researchers with investors and entrepreneurs interested in their areas of research. In addition, OVALS serves in a facilitative role to promote scientific collaboration across the five research institutions and among related industry and economic development groups in order to expand research directions, open up new funding avenues and increase the commercial potential of new technologies.