Columbus, OH—February 15, 2024 —Today, the Midwest Pediatric Device Consortium (MPDC), a new consortium led by Nationwide Children’s Hospital, The Ohio State University, Cincinnati Children’s, and Cleveland Clinic Children’s launched to utilize the resources of the Midwest to advance pediatric device development across the country. Developed in collaboration with many Midwest academics and industry innovators from Northeast Ohio Medical University, The University of Toledo, Ohio Life Sciences, Rev1 Ventures, Jumpstart, CincyTech and many more, the MPDC is a federally funded program that brings together key leaders in life sciences to impact change and propel advancements in pediatrics.
“Very few medical devices are designed and marketed for children,” said Cory Criss, MD, co-principal investigator and chief operating officer of the consortium and pediatric surgeon at Nationwide Children’s. “The Midwest’s impressive and expansive MedTech infrastructure makes it an ideal location to support innovative projects designed for pediatrics. We see this grant as not only as an opportunity for impact in pediatrics, but also a catalyst for developing a pipeline of collaborative effort in the region. We are excited to get to work.”
The consortium is the result of an initiative from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that focuses on increasing pediatric device development. This initiative provides specific funding for devices and resources for inventors to advance their projects forward. As part of this legislation, the FDA awarded a $6.95 million grant to the collaboration to establish the MPDC and to provide funding, resources, networking, clinical trials infrastructure, collaboration with other PDCs, and a commitment to under-represented populations. This allows the region to not only advance pediatric devices here in the Midwest, but also to aid in devices across the country.
The launch of the MPDC showcases the growing revolution of life science research programs in the Midwest. The MPDC called for applications in January 2024 for their Direct Device Funding grant. The grant recipients will be announced in March 2024. Learn more about the consortium.
About MPDC
The Midwest Pediatric Device Consortium (MPDC) is a new consortium led by Nationwide Children’s Hospital and The Ohio State University to develop, produce, and commercialize pediatric medical devices. The MPDC is the first of its kind in the Midwest and is supported by a $6.95 million grant from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and led by investigators from Nationwide Children’s, Ohio State, Cincinnati Children’s, Cleveland Clinic Children’s, and many of the other major health care centers, academic institutions and industries across the Midwest. With the knowledge and support of industry leaders committed to the MPDC, the number of pediatric medical devices across the nation will continue to increase.
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MEDIA CONTACTS:
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