Third Frontier Awards YBI $450K, $12.8M Across Ohio
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Ohio Third Frontier Commission voted Wednesday to approve more than $12.8 million to fund cutting-edge biomedical companies and help entrepreneurs and technology start-up companies get their businesses off the ground.
Among the awards is $450,000 to the Youngstown Business Incubator. The YBI funds "provide a full range of entrepreneurial support, including facilities, counseling and access to potential investors, to start-up companies in the fields of information technology and additive manufacturing," according to the commission. "A portion of the funding will be invested directly in the Youngstown Business Incubator portfolio of companies."
“We are helping make Ohio the destination for biomedical advances and continuing our commitment to foster new technology and entrepreneurs in Ohio,” said David Goodman, director of the Ohio Development Services Agency and chair of the Ohio Third Frontier Commission.
Here are the 2013 Ohio Third Frontier Commercial Acceleration Loan Fund awardees:
- Synapse Biomedical, Oberlin, was awarded a $2.4 million loan for its project that will help bring its NeuRx DPS platform to a new regulatory approval, allowing the device to be used in intensive care and emergency room patients.
- Intellirod Spine, Akron, was awarded a $1.6 million for its project to help accelerate development and commercialization of its post-lumbar spine fusion medical device.
- Cleveland Medical Devices, Cleveland, was awarded a $1 million loan to expand the commercialization of its home sleep apnea testing using its SleepView® monitor and SleepView SM Web Portal.
- Nanofiber Solutions, Columbus, was awarded a $1.5 million loan to assist in the development and commercialization of new products made by their unique tissue engineering scaffolds.
In addition to YBI, 2013 Ohio Third Frontier Incubation Program awardees include:
- Akron Development Corp., Akron, was awarded $500,000 for its Akron Global Business Accelerator and will work to provide incubation facilities, entrepreneurial assistance, access to capital and an eco-system of other resources to nurture early-stage technology companies.
- BioEnterprise Corp., Cleveland, was awarded $350,000 to provide business assistance to incubator tenants, maintain a quality biomedical research facility for the region and grow the region as a national hotspot for bioscience innovation and commercialization.
- Dayton/Miami Valley Entrepreneurs Center Inc., Dayton, was awarded $450,000 for The Entrepreneurs Center and will provide business incubation services and leased space for technology-oriented entrepreneurs in the Dayton region.
- Hamilton County Business Center Inc., Cincinnati, was awarded $500,000 to provide flexible space, administrative services, access to business coaching, mentoring and technical assistance.
- Lorain County Community College, Elyria, was awarded $350,000 for the Great Lakes Innovation and Development Enterprise (GLIDE) Incubator and will offer entrepreneurial assistance and training, networking opportunities and access to capital to assist innovators and start-ups in the Northeast Ohio Region.
- MAGNET, Cleveland, was awarded $450,000 to support its incubator and will provide incubation facility services, access to MAGNET’s manufacturing and engineering specialists and legal, marketing and finance resources. It will also provide access to capital to help accelerate commercialization.
- Mansfield/Richland Incubator Inc., Mansfield, was awarded $450,000 for the Braintree Business Development Center and will provide strategic planning, general business development, facilities and utilities, organizational development, market research, marketing strategy, branding strategy, sales planning, access to customers, human resource management and access to capital for companies in the commercialization process.
- Ohio University, Athens, was awarded $350,000 for its Ohio University Innovation Center and will provide facilities and technical support services to technology-based, start-up company clients in the Southeast Ohio Region. The Center will also help identify mentors, investors and other partner service providers.
- TechColumbus, Inc., Columbus, was awarded $600,000 and will provide venture acceleration services, direct investment capital and facilities at the central Ohio incubator, SpringBox Labs. TechColumbus will also provide customer validation, market assessment, business and financial modeling, capital attraction and investor preparation services.
- The University of Toledo was awarded $450,000 for the Launch Pad Incubation Program and will provide facilities, business development, access to capital and commercialization expertise to technology-based startup companies located within an 18-county area of Northwest Ohio. It will also provide a coaching system to identify specific gaps in talent and resources needed to effectively address each client’s specific needs, utilizing their mentor network and demonstration funding to fill those gaps.
2013 Ohio Third Frontier Industrial Research and Development Center Program awardee:
- The Cleveland Clinic was awarded a cost share commitment of $1.5 million from the Ohio Third Frontier’s Industrial Research and Development Center Program. This will complement a grant from the National Institute of Health’s National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute to establish the National Center for Accelerated Innovations. The clinic will also support entrepreneurial education programs to researchers throughout a consortium of Ohio institutions including Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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