The Israel Venture Capital Research Center on Wednesday hosted the one-day Cleveland Clinic Innovation Summit at the Tel Aviv Hilton under the title of "Clinical Medicine Meets Innovation."
Focusing on cardiovascular and orthopedic innovations, the summit was attended by approximately 130 Israeli medical, biotech and venture capital professionals.
Cleveland Clinic physicians were in Israel
to explore cooperative ventures with Israeli biotech companies. The delegation seeks to tap into the rich research & development and human talent offered by the medical and healthcare communities in both Israel and the US.
The Cleveland Clinic delegation included Dr. Isador Lieberman, a surgeon who was recently brought to Israel to perform a groundbreaking operation on the spine of Shas leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef.
Tom Sudow, Director of Business Development for Cleveland Clinic's Global Cardiovascular Innovation Center, has been on the forefront in expanding cooperation between the US and Israel.
"The Cleveland Clinic Innovation Summit allows Americans and Israelis to exchange ideas and knowledge and to explore exciting medical innovations that will benefit both new companies and the patients for whom the advances are intended," explained Sudow.
The summit (Photo: Alon Hadar)
Sudow is very impressed with the Israeli entrepreneurial mentality and hopes to further build on a history of Cleveland-Israel investment and development of cutting-edge medical advances.
In order to attract business investments, Ohio has phased out their corporate tax which led to a 100% exemption from taxation on sales outside the state. Labor, energy, building and transportation costs in Ohio are significantly lower than US cities on the East and West Coasts.
Furthermore, an independent study found that biotech companies enjoy a 15% reduction in the overall cost of doing business in Cleveland compared to other major US cities. Over the course of the past few years, dozens of Israeli biotech and medical health companies have started operations in Ohio in their pursuit of American market entry.
For the fourteenth consecutive year, the Cleveland Clinic has been ranked No. 1 in the US for heart care, according to the 2008 US News & World Report "America's Best Hospitals" survey. The survey also recognized Cleveland Clinic as one of the nation's best hospitals overall, ranking Cleveland Clinic as No. 4 in the US.
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