Ohio Gov. Bob Taft visited Northeast Ohio today to present $19.4 million to The Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, a consortium of Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), The Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals of Cleveland (UHC), Athersys Inc. and other research partners committed to developing new stem cell technologies to treat disease.

The grant represents nearly $10.9 million in new funding from Ohio's Wright Capital Fund and $8.6 million, announced May 28, from the state's Biomedical Research and Technology Transfer Fund.

The new center will work to improve patient care by developing and commercializing stem cell biology therapeutics to treat a broad range of human diseases. The center also will involve BioEnterprise Corp., a non-profit business accelerator in Cleveland, The Ohio State University, and six other industry partners.

"The Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine represents a breakthrough initiative for the state of Ohio," said Stan Gerson, M.D., director of the new center, professor of hematological oncology at CWRU and chief of the Division of Hematology Oncology at UHC. "The center launches a new program using non-embryonic stem cell therapy, supplanting the use of drugs and devices to treat and cure diseases."

Floyd D. Loop, M.D., chief executive officer of The Cleveland Clinic, said the center will have the potential not only to repair patients' lives, but to help transform the state's economy as well.

"Establishment of this center offers the potential to profoundly enhance Ohio's biomedical and biotechnology industry," Dr. Loop said. "The center will provide the state with a signature biotechnology competency that will be propelled by the immense clinical capabilities of the collaborating institutions."

In addition to the nearly $20 million in state funding, the new research center will receive more than $20 million from Case Western Reserve University, The Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals of Cleveland to match the Wright Capital Fund money. This fund is part of Gov. Taft's Third Frontier Project, a $1.6 billion plan to create high paying jobs for Ohioans. The Wright funding designates the new stem cell research center as one of Ohio's Wright Centers of Innovation, an indication of its potential to significantly expand research and technology commercialization in the state.

"More than 20 years ago, researchers and physicians at University Hospitals of Cleveland and CWRU began to see the potential of stem cells," said Fred Rothstein, M.D., president and chief executive officer of University Hospitals of Cleveland. "Stem cell research here, supported by more than $20 million in annual federal funds, is a perfect example of bench-to-bedside science, producing real cures in cancer and other diseases using stem cells from adults, children, even from the umbilical cords of newborn babies."

"This grant represents a public-private partnership that has potential in so many areas of medicine and bioscience business formation," said CWRU President Edward M. Hundert, M.D. "It represents an investment in the exciting future of adult stem cell research and application. The Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine will be a catalyst for discovery of new therapies for heart disease, cancer, nerve degeneration and many other illnesses. I am thrilled by the faith and trust that the governor and the people of Ohio have shown for this project."

The nearly $10.9 million from the Wright Capital Fund will be used for facilities and equipment related to the new center. The $8.6 million from Ohio's Biomedical Research and Technology Transfer Fund will support basic and translational research at the collaborating institutions. The Biomedical Research and Technology Transfer Fund was created with money from the state's tobacco settlement.

Initially, the center will focus its research on common disorders, including degenerative joint disease, congestive heart failure, leukemia and lymphoma, and degenerative neurological diseases. It will focus on the numerous adult-derived stem cells in both their native and differentiated states.

"With this center, there will be expansion of research, new inventions, new companies, new investments and many new jobs," said Paul E. DiCorleto, Ph.D., chairman of The Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute.

The center will seek to recruit 26 new investigators within five years who will bring funding from the National Institutes of Health, augmenting the NIH-funded investigators currently associated with the center. Over time, the center could bring as many as 140 new jobs to the area.

The center is committed to launching two spin-off companies before 2006 and four more by 2008. Through its member institutions, the center will tap into relationships with nine venture funds and use state-of-Ohio-supported Cleveland Clinic and CWRU Technology Validation Funds to enhance the market potential of the center's technology. The center will be governed by a private sector board of governors advised by a scientific advisory board of internationally recognized investigators. The center's executive committee will oversee the work of three committees - a research committee, a commercialization council, and a finance and administrative committee.

The research committee will oversee collaborative programs and guide research strategy and direction. This committee will be led by principal investigator Stan Gerson, M.D., of Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals of Cleveland, by co-investigator Paul DiCorleto, Ph.D., of The Cleveland Clinic, and by industry representatives with participation from project leaders. The commercialization council will consist of the industrial, venture capital and technology leaders from investors and commercial partners, while the finance and administration committee will be comprised of financial officers from the collaborating institutions who will oversee fiscal operations and grants administration.

 

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