The Austen BioInnovation Institute in Akron – an exceptional collaboration of Akron Children’s Hospital, Akron General Health System, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Summa Health System, The University of Akron and The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation – is focused on patient-centered innovation and commercialization at the intersection of biomaterials and medicine.

The strategic alignment of institutional, state, federal and philanthropic support, accompanied with Akron’s rich legacy in industrial and materials science, is working to pioneer the next generation of life-enhancing and life-saving innovation that will transform Akron and the surrounding region into a model for biomedical discovery and enterprise.

Austen BioInnovation Institute in Akron aspires to be:

  • A global leader in discovering, developing and commercializing biomaterial solutions for patients with orthopaedic and wound healing problems
  • Nationally distinct in improving health outcomes of the medically underserved
  • Nationally recognized for the use of simulation technologies to improve the education of the healthcare team

Transformative Economic Development
The Austen BioInnovation Institute has been designated as an Ohio Center of Excellence for Biomedicine and Healthcare. As an alliance of five independent institutions, the Austen BioInnovation Institute leverages individual strengths and collective mass to create an impact beyond that possible by any one institution.  The Austen BioInnovation Institute provides the convergence force necessary to develop compelling projects that will attract private funding and venture capital investment to the region. The institute is moving Akron toward a secure economic future by accelerating the creation of over 2,000 jobs within the next decade, and is a critical element of the City of Akron’s Biomedical Corridor, a unique effort aimed at luring health-related ventures to the region.

Nationally Distinct Centers of Innovation
The Austen BioInnovation Institute consists of five interrelated centers designed to accelerate translational research to biomedical commercialization as well as improve access, education, prevention, treatment and disease management. The centers include

  • Center for Biomaterials and Medicine – with core strengths in biopolymers, orthopaedics and wound healing, the center will leverage world-class polymer science and engineering into high-value clinical applications aimed at accelerating biomedical innovation;
  • Medical Device Development Center – provides a unique resource for companies and researchers to design, test, synthesize and manufacture new materials and healthcare applications of biomaterials, while providing entrepreneurs and scientists with flexible and easy access to resources for commercialization of their ideas and products;
  • Center for Clinical Trials and Product Development — provides clinical product development and regulatory services enabling partners and biomedical companies to realize optimal strategy and marketing approval;
  • Center for Simulation and Integrated Healthcare Education – is establishing a nationally recognized model for simulation-based education and training programs; and
  • Center for Community Health Improvement – provides a new model for integrated, multi-institutional collaboration for building an efficient, sustainable model of community health improvement representing the future direction of health in this country, with the direct impact to improve population health, reduce health costs, and remain competitive in a rapidly changing system.