Eddie Pauline speaking at the Andelyn Biosciences ribbon cutting.
June has turned out to be a significant month in Ohio’s life sciences industry.
We teamed up with JobsOhio to host the Ohio pavilion at the BIO International Convention in Boston. Our presence at BIO attracted more attention and traffic than ever before, leading to productive conversations between firms that are already in the state and those outside Ohio looking to invest here.
OLS member Sarepta Therapeutics received FDA approval for its Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy treatment, ELEVIDYS. This is a groundbreaking gene therapy technology developed at Nationwide Children’s Hospital by Dr. Jerry Mendell and Dr. Louise Rodino-Klapac, the latter now Sarepta’s EVP, CSO, and Head of R&D. Yet another proof point that Ohio has the capabilities and expertise to be a biotech leader.
Speaking of leadership, Cincinnati Children’s is now the #1 ranked children’s hospital in the country with Nationwide Children’s Hospital coming in at #6. The only other states with two children’s hospitals among the top 10 are Pennsylvania and California.
Finally, we helped celebrate the opening of Andelyn Bioscience’s new 185,000 square foot manufacturing facility in the Carmenton Innovation District in Columbus last week. Fun fact, many of the Andelyn employees who were previously at Nationwide Children’s Hospital also worked on the technology that became the FDA-approved ELEVIDYS.
Efforts to invest in life science research and keep top talent here are paying dividends when it comes to saving lives and growing our economy, but Ohio can be doing even more. Check out BIO International’s new report, The U.S. Biosciences Industry in the States: Best Practices in Innovation, Partnerships, and Job Creation to see where we have some gaps. And take a look at the 2023 Life Sciences Workforce Trends Report, which our members helped inform.
What else would you like to see happening as we work to convene, advocate for, and accelerate the industry?
Eddie Pauline
President & CEO
Ohio Life Sciences