NE Ohio biomedical industry investments on the rise

Investment in the northeast Ohio biomedical sector totaled nearly $294 million in 2018 with 71 regional companies receiving funding, according to regional healthcare trade group BioEnterprise. Those figures make this region the third largest for total healthcare investment in the Midwest, following Minneapolis ($664 million) and Chicago ($551 million).

These were among the findings of BioEnterprise’s 2018 Midwest Healthcare Growth Capital Report, which tracks capital investments made in biomedical companies across 11 Midwestern states in three sectors — medical device; biotechnology and pharmaceuticals; and health IT/software and services. The $294 million invested in northeast Ohio is the second largest in the history of the report, and the 71 companies receiving funding is the highest ever. Northeast Ohio is also the second largest region for the number of companies funded across 11 Midwest states. Minneapolis leads with 83 companies receiving funding.

California, Minnesota and Massachusetts dominate the U.S. medical device industry, but many other states also play a significant role in medtech, including Ohio.

“The steady increase of investment into northeast Ohio biomedical companies, and the number of companies receiving funding show that investors are seeking out and finding promising startups in our region,” said BioEnterprise president & CEO Aram Nerpouni in a prepared statement. “It demonstrates that northeast Ohio is an ideal location for new healthcare companies to grow and succeed.”

Meanwhile, biomedical investment in the Midwest as a whole has remained steady at $2.5 billion in capital raised, the trade group noted. That amount of investment validates the record increase of 43% in 2017, showing the sustained interest among investors in biomedical companies in the Midwest. The total number of Midwest companies receiving funding was 438, a 20% increase over 2017.

Here are some highlights from the BioEnterprise report:

• A $59.1 million investment in ViewRay (NSDQ:VRAY) ranked as the second largest medical device deal in the entire Midwest. Following ViewRay are two confidential deals for $40 million and $32 million respectively, then a $21 million investment in stem cell technology company Athersys (NSDQ:ATHX).
• Cleveland ranked first for both the number of companies and the total number of deals in the state, with Columbus bringing in $163 million (29 deals) and Cincinnati totaling $82 million (15 deals).
• Of the 124 northeast Ohio deals, 60 (49%) were in medical devices, 39 (31%) were in health IT/software and services, and 25 (20%) were in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals.

Click here to view the full report.