A message from Eddie Pauline, President & CEO

Despite economic anxiety, the life sciences in Ohio are thriving

There is a clear feeling of uncertainty, even anxiety, about the economy in 2023. News headlines tout experts predicting recessions, some mild, others more painful. We have to look only as far as the grocery store to see how inflation is affecting household budgets, and we know that as the Federal Reserve attempts to rein in those costs, interest rates will continue to rise, making big purchases more painful for families across our country.

It would be natural for that uneasiness to lead to fear or despair. But when I consider where our state and industry stand at the start of this year, I feel genuine optimism. While other industries expect slowdowns, ours is ramping up. This energy was captured perfectly last night at our networking event in Cleveland. We hosted nearly 200 life sciences leaders in partnership with new member J.P. Morgan and Thompson Hine.

Recently, the National Institutes of Health announced a significant award to OLS members Battelle, AmplifyBio, and Andelyn Biosciences to bring regenerative medicine therapies for neurological disorders to market more quickly. There is substantial innovation coming from our startups and anchor institutions alike, fueled by the Innovation Districts in Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati, along with strong and steady job growth in the life sciences statewide. Medpace, a Cincinnati-based CRO, recently announced its plan to hire 1,500 people.

This type of leadership is drawing national attention. In December, Modern Healthcare, the healthcare industry’s premier business magazine, named Nationwide Children’s Hospital CEO Tim Robinson to its signature list of the “100 Most Influential People in Healthcare.”

Robinson’s nomination focused on Nationwide Children’s many transformative accomplishments under his leadership, like helping to make central Ohio a focal point of biotechnology research and manufacturing through the launch of Andelyn Biosciences; the commercialization of dozens of research discoveries; and building collaborative partnerships with The Ohio State University, JobsOhio, the State of Ohio, and the City of Columbus that are fueling the development of the Carmenton Innovation District.

While NCH is hardly alone in our state in exceptional research and innovation, this award is a good reason to consider the details of what they have accomplished. In the last decade, external research funding more than doubled, increasing from $57.9 million in 2011 to $134.9 million in 2021; their teams have 28 licensed programs in clinical trials; and at least 15 startups have emerged, with one being acquired by Novartis for over $8 billion.

I was further reminded of the economic power of science and innovation at the 41st Annual J.P. Morgan Chase Healthcare Conference, which I attended in San Francisco earlier this month. I jotted a number of lines down, but two struck me as particularly meaningful:

“No market has a monopoly on innovation.”

and

“If you get the science right, the money will follow.”

In Ohio, we are certainly getting the science right. That we are doing it across our state (as our new logo represents) proves that regional innovation “monopolies” are fallacies. We will work harder in 2023 to convene, advocate for, and accelerate our industry because we are committed to our members, and we know the life sciences will benefit all Ohioans — economically, of course, but more importantly, through the therapies and treatments that save and improve lives.

Our association needs to grow and invest to execute this well. We have onboarded Willa Bluestone, who will be supporting our policy and workforce efforts. In February, we will welcome Bill Dunlevy, who will serve as our managing director of growth. Willa and Bill bring a lot of new energy and insights to the team!

As always, I welcome your thoughts. Let’s start 2023 not afraid, but inspired by what we’ve already achieved and what we know is yet to come.

Eddie Pauline
President & CEO
Ohio Life Sciences