One of Northeast Ohio’s leading physician-entrepreneurs is leaving Cleveland Clinic to join Akron’s Summa Health System.
Dr. Marc Penn will become director of research for the Summa Cardiovascular Institute and also a professor at Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED) in Rootstown, according to a statement from Summa. Penn will start with Summa next month. His five-person research team will make the transition with him.
At Cleveland Clinic, Penn was medical director of the cardiac intensive care unit, as well as director of the Center for Cardiovascular Cell Therapy. A cardiologist, Penn’s research focuses on helping the heart repair itself after an injury or a chronic disease.
With the Rise of AI, What IP Disputes in Healthcare Are Likely to Emerge?
Munck Wilson Mandala Partner Greg Howison shared his perspective on some of the legal ramifications around AI, IP, connected devices and the data they generate, in response to emailed questions.
His research has led to the founding of several Northeast Ohio companies that he’s still involved with, including Juventas Therapeutics, SironRx Therapeutics and Cleveland HeartLab. He’s also done work for Cleveland-based stem cell therapy developer Athersys.
Luring a physician who’s had so much success translating research into viable companies represents a big coup for Summa. Joining Summa is likely to create opportunities for Penn and his team to work with researchers from the Austen BioInnovation Institute, which was established in 2008 to bolster the region’s innovation in healthcare. The Institute has set a goal of bringing 2,400 jobs and 60 biomedical companies to Akron within 10 years.
Penn said he was drawn to Akron by the “commitment to collaboration” shared by Summa, NEOMED and the Austen BioInnovation Institute (ABIA).
“What intrigues me is that you have three independent institutions striving to be excellent at what they do, and they’re willing to work together,” Penn said. “Having excellent centers that want to collaborate is better than having one center trying to do everything itself.”
A Personalized Approach to Medication Nonadherence
At the Abarca Forward conference earlier this year, George Van Antwerp, managing director at Deloitte, discussed how social determinants of health and a personalized member experience can improve medication adherence and health outcomes.
Penn said he holds some intellectual property that hasn’t been started down the commercialization path, so it’s possible that he’ll work with the ABIA to create new companies out of that technology.
Additionally, as a result of Penn’s joining Summa, it’s likely that several clinical trials he’s involved with will take place at the Akron health system. For example, Juventas plans to initiate trials within the next six months or so for patients suffering from heart failure and critical limb ischemia.
The company’s technology, JVS-100, works by recruiting stem cells from the bone marrow to create new blood vessels and prevent ongoing cell death at the site of a patient’s injury. SironRX is built on the same technology, but is applying it to a different clinical area — wound healing.
A lifelong Northeast Ohioan, Penn received his medical degree and a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from Case Western Reserve University.
Penn’s last day at Cleveland Clinic is scheduled to be July 10.
