Medilink Midlands partners with Ohio life science cluster to boost trade

^{A strategic collaboration to promote trade and investment between the Midlands in the UK and Northeast Ohio has been announced by Medilink Midlands and the City of Mentor.}

Located in Northeast Ohio, the City of Mentor is part of a cluster of life science and biomedical companies that have grown up around the Cleveland Clinic, a leading hospital in the US. The cluster includes companies such as Philips, Siemens, Steris and has over 700 companies based there.

The partnership looks to take advantage of the two regions which offer some of the largest clusters in Europe and the US. For instance, the UK has the third largest medical technology sector in Europe, and the Midlands has the largest regional cluster in this sector. Medilinks Midlands brings the collective expertise of over 1,700 life science organisations within the region.

The two groups are planning their first initiative for late October and will announce more information later this year.

Kenneth Filipiak, city manager, mentor, Ohio said: “Links between Northeast Ohio and the UK are set to become more important following a substantial investment by the Cleveland Clinic in what is currently the largest hospital development in the UK.

The City of Mentor looks forward to becoming a focal point for stimulating trade and investment between Northeast Ohio and the UK life sciences sector.”

Dr Darren Clark, director of Medilink Midlands commented: “The collaboration between the City of Mentor, and Northeast Ohio, is the first international relationship announced by Medilink Midlands since it was launched earlier this month.

"North Eastern Ohio is an attractive strategic location for Midlands companies looking to establish a low-cost foothold in the largest medical and life sciences market in the world.

The State of Ohio is an important manufacturing region in the USA and has considerable potential synergies with the Midlands Region – the UK’s leading manufacturing region. 

Medilink Midlands looks forward to encouraging a broader collaboration between the two regions through its partnership with Midlands Engine.”

A delegation from the City of Mentor met with Medilink earlier this year at Med-Tech Innovation Expo to discuss their partnership.