Ohio-Israel Chamber And BioEnterprise Announce Israeli Company Moves to Ohio.

CLEVELAND -- At times successful economic development at home has to begin abroad. At least that's been the experience of two Ohio-area economic development organizations that have seen recent success in luring overseas companies - and their jobs - to the region.

The Ohio-Israel Chamber of Commerce (OICC), a Cleveland-area business group that fosters economic ties between companies located in Ohio and Israel, has been active in recent years in helping Israeli companies move to Ohio. The organization has sponsored a number of business "missions" to Israel as well as brought many Israeli company executives to Ohio on corporate re-location visits. Notable among these missions was a 2002 life science mission to Israel for 20 Ohio executives and bioscience leaders, and the 2003 Bioscience Israel matchmaking event here in Cleveland that linked local companies, clinical institutions, and researchers with more than 20 Israeli companies seeking to co-locate in the United States.

With biotechnology as a core strength for both the Cleveland and Israeli business communities, the Chamber has worked closely with BioEnterprise, The Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals, and Case Western Reserve University to bring four companies to Cleveland.

--Vascular Biogenics Ltd (VBL) is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of innovative therapies targeting the vascular wall. VBL was first introduced to Cleveland during the 2003 reverse trade mission. As a result of recent efforts to recruit VBL to this area, it recently announced the establishment of a North American office based in Cleveland and a relationship with The Cleveland Clinic.

--Imadent Corporation, which was first contacted on one of the OICC's missions to Israel, has also established a U. S. presence based in Northeast Ohio. Imadent was formed in Israel in 2000 to commercialize the use of ultrasound technologies in imaging hard tissues in the dental cavity. It is working with Dr. Charles Babbush, an Adjunct Professor at Case School of Dentistry, and with BIOMEC.

--MDG Medical, another contact from the OICC mission, has hired a CEO operating out of Cleveland to begin building its U. S. base of operations. MDG has developed the ServeRx system for reducing medication errors, enhancing nursing and pharmacy productivity, and lowering health care costs.

--Simbionix, which pre-dated the mission, was also supported in its move to Cleveland by the Chamber. Simbionix is the leading developer of interactive medical simulators for computer assisted endoscopy to train physicians in minimally invasive surgery. It is working with The Cleveland Clinic.

Beyond its work with VBL, Imadent, MDG Medical, and Simbionix, OICC points to a string of successes in helping to bring these Israeli companies to Ohio or in arranging for joint venture relationships with existing Ohio companies. All told, these groups, encompassing primarily companies in early start-up phase, today represent approximately 40 new jobs. In addition, both BioEnterprise and OICC expect job growth to continue as these organizations mature, and as they form a nucleus of start-up activity that attracts further companies to the region:

ATC (polymer coated circuit boards)--Akron

HAM-LET (fluid and gas motion control systems)--Solon

IMPULSE DYNAMICS (medical device for weight loss)--Cleveland

UNITASK (software integrator)--Beachwood

AMODAT (logistics software)--Beachwood

ELBIT/ALPHA MICRON (liquid crystal technology applications for the automotive industry)--Kent

OLIVE SOFTWARE (software for archiving printed matter)--Columbus. Joint venture with On-line Computer Library Center).

"Israel has become known around the world for its entrepreneurial and technology skills. Today, Israel is second only to the United States as a world center for biotech research and development. Clearly, there is much opportunity Ohio companies can uncover in that tiny country, as well as opportunity for growth in Ohio's own biotech community," said Howard Gudell, president of the OICC.

"Together with the OICC, our Israeli partners and a variety of other economic development partners that have a stake in our success, we have cleared a path for these emerging companies to align the talent and resources they need to gain a strong, sustainable foothold in the United States market from right here in Cleveland," said Baiju Shah, president of BioEnterprise.

BioEnterprise Corporation is a business formation, recruitment, and acceleration company committed to supporting the growth of bioscience companies. BioEnterprise provides mission-critical senior management and support services to early stage and emerging growth companies. The BioEnterprise management team is comprised of executives with extensive experience in growing bioscience and technology companies.

Located in Cleveland, Ohio, its founders and equal partners are Case Western Reserve University, The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, and University Hospitals Health System, Inc. Additional regional technology partners include the NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland State University, and NorTech.

The Ohio-Israel Chamber is a statewide non-profit economic development organization founded in 1996 to facilitate business between Ohio and Israel. Having worked with more than 500 U.S. and Israeli companies, it provides enterprise solutions to create collaborative relationships between companies seeking to commercialize technologies.