Life Sciences Research in Ohio
Research Organizations in Ohio
Through discovery and innovation, life sciences research is critical to the health and well-being of our state and our nation. It is also an important source of income and job creation. Research programs are in operation throughout the state at organizations that include universities, health systems, and private companies.
To address the vast landscape of the research and development field, OLSF has categorized key areas within the sector. While some organizations operate within multiple specialties, each area of life sciences R&D has unique attributes.
Academic Institutions
Academic Institutions play a critical role in Ohio’s life sciences industry by providing education to students entering the field, while also performing research at some of the state’s most advanced facilities. Universities and medical schools often receive grants from private foundations, the National Institutes of Health, and the National Science Foundation, among others, to support research conducted by faculty, postdoctoral, and student researchers. Collaboration between the academic sector and private industry, often encouraged by programs such as the Ohio Third Frontier, has led to much advancement in life sciences. In recent years, many Ohio universities have expanded R&D capabilities with new facilities, technology, and an internal focus on promoting discovery.
Clinical Trial Facilities
Clinical Trial Facilities operate as stand-alone entities focused exclusively on clinical research, as well as embedded programs within existing health systems, hospitals, and clinics performing research alongside the delivery of care to patients. Clinical trials are sponsored by private researchers, companies, and government agencies with the aim of proving the safety and effectiveness of new discoveries intended to improve quality of life. Clinical trial facilities operate in highly regulated conditions with strict adherence to protocols determined by study sponsors and are often overseen by independent monitors.
Clinical Research Support
Clinical Research Support companies provide professional services to augment and bolster clinical research efforts being performed by study sponsors, clinical trial facilities, and contract research organizations. Clinical trial/study sponsors seek out firms in this field for assistance with biostatistics, data management, study monitoring & management, protocol development, medical writing, safety reporting, and project management, among many other key services.
Contract Research Organizations and Contract Research Laboratories
Contract Research Organizations and Contract Research Laboratories offer outsourced research and development services to companies in the pharmaceutical, medical device, biotech, chemical, agricultural, veterinary, food, and consumer products markets. Highly specialized, targeted services are tailored to clients’ needs in such areas as investigational drug development, medicinal chemistry, compound evaluation & synthesis, formulations, biocompatibility, efficacy modeling, toxicity, and safety testing.
Device Design & Development
Device Design & Development companies provide critical engineering and design services to medical device companies. Inventors turn to companies in this space for specific, technical capabilities that bring their concepts to reality, and, ultimately, to the market. Concept modeling, design for manufacture, prototyping, material & supplier selection, aesthetic development, graphic design, regulatory assistance, quality controls, and risk assessment are just a few of the services typically available from firms in this area.
Hospitals and Healthcare Providers
Hospitals and Healthcare Providers have long been an essential interface between the life sciences industry and the implementation of clinical and laboratory research. Many institutions have added to their role in the R&D pipeline by supporting creative ideas developed by doctors, nurses, and other employees. Being on the front lines of care delivery, practitioners are ideally suited to explore new methods and technologies to improve patient well-being. Numerous adult and children’s hospitals in Ohio have deployed commercialization programs that seek to market discoveries made by clinicians and create exciting collaborations with private industry.
Photo credit: University of Cincinnati, CTI Clinical Trial & Consulting Services, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Charles River Laboratories, NAMSA, Nationwide Children’s Hospital