(COLUMBUS, Ohio) – The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a $6.95 million grant to be distributed over five years to create a new consortium led by investigators from Nationwide Children’s Hospital, The Ohio State University, Cleveland Clinic Children’s, and Cincinnati Children’s to help increase the number of pediatric medical devices across the nation.
“The opportunity to be leading the charge in our region toward the development of medical devices for pediatric patients is incredibly exciting” said Cory Criss, MD, co-principal investigator and chief operating officer of the consortium, and pediatric surgeon at Nationwide Children’s. “It was a massive effort and really highlights the amazing talent and expertise that we have to offer in the region.”
The Midwest Pediatric Device Consortium (MPDC) will include Nationwide Children’s, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Ohio Life Sciences, and Rev1 Ventures. Many other regional health care systems, academic institutions, and industry partners are also committed. The MPDC will work to conceptualize, prototype, test, manufacture, market and commercialize pediatric medical devices.
“While there are plenty of medical and surgical devices on the market available for patients, it’s important to remember that children are not little adults and are underserved in this space. They require equipment catered to them, making pediatric device development vitally important,” said Matthew McFarland, RPh, PhD, chief technical officer of the consortium and vice president of commercialization and industry relations at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. “We are thrilled to be collaborating across institutions in order to bring more pediatric-focused devices from bench to bedside, to benefit patient outcomes.”
The Pediatric Device Consortia (PDC) Grants Program was launched by the FDA in 2009. This is the fifth time the FDA has awarded grants overall, and the first time the FDA has awarded a grant to Ohio institutions. There are currently only five consortia that receive this prestigious award by the FDA.
“As home to several of the leading hospitals and universities in the country, as well as a vibrant medical technology infrastructure, Ohio is an ideal space to establish this new consortium,” said David Eckmann, PhD, MD, co-principal investigator, and Chief Executive Officer of the consortium, and founding director of the Center for Medical and Engineering Innovation (CMEI) at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. “This is an excellent step toward improving patient care not throughout Ohio, but nationwide.”
This consortium is supported by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award [FAIN] totaling $6.95 million with 100 percent funded by FDA/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by FDA/HHS, or the U.S. Government.
About The Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital
Named to the Top 10 Honor Roll on U.S. News & World Report’s 2023-24 list of “Best Children’s Hospitals,” Nationwide Children’s Hospital is one of America’s largest not-for-profit free-standing pediatric health care systems providing unique expertise in pediatric population health, behavioral health, genomics and health equity as the next frontiers in pediatric medicine, leading to best outcomes for the health of the whole child. Integrated clinical and research programs are part of what allows Nationwide Children’s to advance its unique model of care. As home to the Department of Pediatrics of The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Nationwide Children’s faculty train the next generation of pediatricians, scientists and pediatric specialists. The Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital is one of the Top 10 National Institutes of Health-funded free-standing pediatric research facilities in the U.S., supporting basic, clinical, translational, behavioral and population health research. The AWRI is comprised of multidisciplinary Centers of Emphasis paired with advanced infrastructure supporting capabilities such as technology commercialization for discoveries; gene- and cell-based therapies; and genome sequencing and analysis. More information is available at NationwideChildrens.org/Research.