The development of the entrepreneurial ecosystem
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COMPILED BY CORINNE COLBERT
19 8 0
Congress passes the Patent and Trademark Law Amendments Act, better known as the Bayh-Dole Act for its legislative sponsors. The law allows universities and other government-backed research entities to commercialize discoveries themselves, rather than having to turn the intellectual property rights over to the federal government.
19 81
Ohio University professor Thomas Wagner makes worldwide headlines for successfully producing the first transgenic animal.
19 8 3
With investment from the Ohio University Foundation, Wagner, Joseph Jollick, and Wilfred Konneker launch Diagnostic Hybrids, Inc., to develop and market diagnostic kits for various diseases.
19 8 3
Ohio University creates the Innovation Center, the first university-based business incubator in Ohio and the 12th such program in the nation.
19 8 4
Ohio University establishes the Edison Biotechnology Institute to pursue interdisciplinary biotechnology research that has commercialization potential.
19 8 7
EBI researcher John Kopchick and graduate student Wen Chen discover growth hormone receptor antagonists. With Ohio University alumnus Rick Hawkins, Kopchick works to develop a drug that alleviates symptoms of acromegaly, a form of gigantism that can cause organ enlargement and premature death.
19 9 7
Athenian Venture Partners, an Athens-based venture capital firm, launches with a $500,000 loan from the Ohio University Foundation.
19 9 8
Several existing programs merge as the Ohio University George V. Voinovich Center for Leadership and Public Affairs. (In 2007, it became the university’s first interdisciplinary school.)
19 9 9
Ohio University alumnus David Wilhelm launches Adena Ventures to invest in start-up businesses in Appalachia and the Great Lakes.
20 03
The drug based on the Kopchick/Chen discovery receives U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval. Pfizer, which has licensed the technology from Ohio University, markets the drug as SOMAVERT® (pegvisomant for injection) to patients worldwide.
20 07
The Voinovich School and Edison Biotechnology Institute partner to form TechGROWTH Ohio with a $10 million grant from the state of Ohio’s Third Frontier economic development initiative. Woodland Ventures (parent company of Adena Ventures) and Ohio State University South Centers are initial partners. The program later expands to include the Innovation Center and Technology Transfer Office, the Muskingum County Business Incubator, and WesBanco, Inc., which provides a $1 million match.
20 08
Forbes magazine ranks Ohio University first in the state and fourth in the nation for returns on research investment.
FIRST BIOTECH THE PRODUCT
Reagents for biotechnology research. A site-directed DNA mutagenesis kit designed for large plasmids is the first product. “Instead of working weeks or even months using conventional methods, scientists can now use our kit to accomplish the same results in only a few days,” says founder Louay Hallak. THE MARKET
BACK STORY
Private, government, or university science laboratories.
After receiving initial help from Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio State University, and TechColumbus, Hallak chose to relocate to the Innovation Center in 2011 to access laboratory space, as well as business coaching and funding opportunities from TechGROWTH Ohio.
//////////////////////// LESSONS LEARNED
The ecosystem is building a hub of start-up businesses in Southeast Ohio that will, in turn, attract more to the area, Hallak forecasts.
E C O S Y S T E M S TA T U S First Biotech received investments from TechGROWTH Ohio and Southern Ohio Creates Companies in spring 2012 for the purchase of equipment and supplies, hiring necessary employees, and marketing of the new technologies.
LESSONS LEARNED
“Without (TechGROWTH funding) we probably wouldn’t be doing this today,” says Salontay, who reports that the company is now in talks with a bigger investor. “We’re very much an Athens-based company. We’re really interested in hiring people from within the university ecosystem.” /////////////////////////////////////////////
A TIMELINE
2010
Quidel Corp. acquires Diagnostic Hybrids for $130 million. The sale yields $35 million for the Ohio University Foundation. The company remains in Athens, retaining more than 200 jobs.
2012
Ohio University and Ohio State University announce the formation of a joint $35 million venture fund to invest in start-ups emerging from discoveries at Ohio universities.
2012
By the second quarter, TechGROWTH has attracted a five-year total of $13 million from the state and $8 million from regional partners to invest in new companies.
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