Written by
WKYC Web Staff
CLEVELAND -- Taking an in-depth look at several local companies that are redefining Cleveland as a world leader in innovation.
Just as important, those companies are investing millions in the city and they're adding jobs.
Cleveland is fast turning into a destination for big biomed money and high-powered entrepreneurs. They are leaving home behind and are part of a growing trend.
Steven Arless is the CEO of CardioInsight. He's worked as a venture capitalist in several cities, but he says Cleveland is unique.
"I feel like I'm part of a revolution," Arless said. "Here to really make Cleveland a world player in medical device technology."
Part of that amazing new technology, CardioInsight is developing a vest that will give doctors a realtime 3-D electrical map of the entire heart -- and it's all done outside the body.
Arless believes Cleveland is uniquely positioned to help cultivate and develop revolutionary biomedical technologies.
"Cleveland is putting a concerted effort into the healthcare field, into medical tech and it's leveraging its three great institutions: the Cleveland Clinic, University Hospital, Case Western Reserve," he said.
"Chicago didn't have anything like this as far as an ecosystem, or as far as support organizations like we have in Cleveland," said Jon Snyder, president and CEO of Neuros Medical.
Snyder is changing people's lives. He's helping amputees who are suffering from chronic pain find relief.
Just as important, the Department of Defense is helping finance the company, hoping the technology can help injured soldiers who are returning home.
And Neuros Medical is finding that technology locally.
"It's a really exciting time," Snyder said. "I think within the next couple of years you're going to see some of these companies and technologies hitting the market."
Jake Orville is president and CEO of the Cleveland Heart Lab, which helps doctors from all across the country determine whether their patients are at a greater risk of heart disease, and Jake has good news.
"We're hiring and we've been hiring, and both here locally and bringing people into the region to be part of Cleveland Heart Lab," said Orville.
The company started in 2009 with 8 people. They just surpassed 100 and by next year, they want to have 140 people on staff.
Overall, Cleveland's biomedical industry has grown from 300 companies in 2002 to more than 700 in 2011.
But those numbers aren't the most surprising.
Channel 3 decided to dig deeper and we discovered that according to Bio-enterprise, in 2009, venture capitalists invested $66 million in healthcare in Northeast Ohio. Then just one year later, in 2010, they invested $135 million -- a 105 percent increase.
As those numbers trend up, expect to see more venture capitalists, more people looking to hire and more people like Orville.
"We are the Cleveland Heart Lab -- we have grabbed the name 'Cleveland,'" Orville said. "It's a good thing to be a part of, not just our name but our brand!"
A brand synonymous with biomedical, and hopefully, a brand with staying power.
WKYC-TV