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Mason Celebrates Biotech Numbers

Ann Thompson
/
WVXU
So far, the Mason Tech Elevator program has nurtured 16 growth companies, including this one, and attracted a total of $120 million in venture capital.

In the past year and a half the City of Mason has attracted more than $400,000,000 in new biotechnology investment and 2,400 jobs. How did city leaders do it? By laying the groundwork years ago,as reported in 2013 by WVXU.

"Our biohealth growth metrics are stunning for 2015," says Mason Economic Development Director Michele Blair. She and others detailed the numbers at a Bio in Your Backyard meet-and-greet Tuesday at the Mason Tech Elevator, housing tier 2 start-ups.

Part of the excitement is the high-paying jobs. The latest BioOhio Growth Report, released in January, 2016, shows a 22 percent increase in payroll since 2009. The average wage of bioscience employees was $72,362 in 2014.

Employment in the southwest region was 13,244 in 2014, up 1.1 percent. Statewide, from 2013 to 2014 the report says bioscience employment dropped by over 1,000 largely due to the closure of Boehringer Ingelheim's Ben Venue Labs in Bedford, Ohio.

Two other potential growth areas, according to BioOhio are healthcare I-T and digital healthcare companies with the large amounts of data coming out of personal fitness devices and healthcare records.

Ann Thompson has decades of journalism experience in the Greater Cincinnati market and brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to her reporting.