Five institutions and a national foundation have launched the BioInnovation Institute in Akron, Ohio, home to each of the participating companies and organizations. The enterprise is expected to attract researchers and their grants.

The institute's founding companies include Akron Children's Hospital, Akron General Health System, Northeastern Ohio Universities Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy (NEOUCOM), Summa Health Systems and the University of Akron, which have raised $80 million in state, academic, and philanthropic grant commitments for their first five years. Initial funding of $20 million was provided by the John S. James and L. Knight foundation. And another $10 million grant is being made by Akron-based FirstEnergy Corp.

The Institute's long-term goal is to become a full-fledged academic health center, much like the University of Massachusetts Medical School, where Worcester Polytechnic Institute contributes engineering support. The medical school alone attracts more than $176 million in research funding each year.

The BioInnovation Institute will focus on five areas, says Lois Margaret Nora, president and dean of NEOUCOM's college of medicine:

• Orthopedic Research Institute of Northeast Ohio, which will involve the five founding organizations plus Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Clinic's Lerner Research Institute.

• A center for biomaterials in medicine will benefit from polymer science and engineering strengths of the University of Akron, and on the orthopedic research at the three hospitals.

• A center for healthcare training will simulate and standardize patient training materials to educate healthcare professionals, such as doctors, nurses, technicians, and paramedics.

• A medical device concept laboratory for creating and testing prototypes.

• A center for clinical trials of devices and drugs.

The institute could eventually include a cluster of orthopedic and biomaterials companies.