Innovation, influence and business in America's medical cities.

Afif Ghannoum

I think it’s fair to say that one sign of industry growth is when you get more people starting businesses to cater solely to that industry. Afif Ghannoum did just that four months ago with his biotech-business focused Ghannoum Law Firm.

The level of intensity Ghannoum says he’ll provide to the industry breaks from other biotech-focused law firms. But other attorneys, including Texas lawyer Robert Abtahi, say the way Ghannoum started also sets the firm apart.

Although some may see this as a completely radical way to start a firm, in reality it’s just a passing of the guard from the old way of doing things to the new way. The consulting and advisory industry has been thinking outside the box for almost a decade now in setting up their business structure, all it took was a near economic meltdown for the legal industry to begin doing the same.

There was significant of talk (and action) about health-care investing this week. Indiana’s Dormir completed a $12 million round, Cleveland-area Clinical Outcomes Management Systems closed on $1.2 million in funding, Cincinnati’s Akebia announced it’s raised more than expected, and Cleveland’s Otosonics is raising cash to develop a diagnostic tool to find infected fluid behind a child’s eardrum.

Meanwhile, VCs were also talking about opportunity: including a collection of Ohio-based investors and a new Boston firm high on the Midwest.

Have a great weekend.