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Integrated Wellness Partners tops original projections, approaches $150 million in investments — P. 3 The NFL is emphasizing its roots, which is bolstering the league’s bond with Cleveland and Canton — P. 6
Cleveland has strong ties to gene therapy Local businesses are getting strong results in booming industry By CHUCK SODER csoder@crain.com
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Parker Hannifin Corp.’s RunWise hybrid drive system cuts the fuel consumption of heavy-duty vehicles by 50%.
On the move to efficiency New federal fuel economy proposal could prove to be beneficial for several local companies By RACHEL ABBEY McCAFFERTY rmcafferty@crain.com
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A new set of federal fuel economy proposals for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles could lead to some technological advancements in the field. The “technology-advancing standards,” as they’re called in the proposal, are being put forth jointly by the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as the second phase of the government’s efforts to lower carbon dioxide emissions and fuel consumption for these vehicles. The first phase was passed in 2011, taking effect for model years 2014 through 2018, and did not include trailers. The new proposal is a lengthy one, at more
cles was to ensure that already available technology made its way onto trucks, said Matthew Spears, center director for the EPA’s heavy duty diesel standards-setting programs. The long timeframe of the next phase, coupled with advanced manufacturing methods, would allow that to grow. “This is going quite a bit further,” Spears said. The proposal offers a variety of options companies could use to meet the standards, from improving a vehicle’s idle performance to making the design of a truck more aerodynamic. While fleet operators stand to save money from the proposal, manufacturers are the companies that will be driving the changes. And with Northeast Ohio’s strength in the vehicle supply chain, plenty of local companies would get the See EFFICIENCY, page 20
See THERAPY, page 22
MORE INSIDE A chance meeting proved to be quite beneficial for the founders of Abeona Therapeutics. Page 22
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than 1,300 pages. The proposed implementation period is relatively long, too: from model years 2021 to 2027 for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles (or Class 2b through 8), and beginning in model year 2018 for trailers. The proposal also includes a faster alternative time period. If passed as proposed, the agencies estimate that by 2027, fuel use and carbon dioxide emissions could be cut by 16% in vocational vehicles (such as delivery trucks or school buses), pickup trucks and light vans, compared with phase one’s standards. For combination tractors made to pull trailers that figure could go up to 24%. Overall, the EPA estimated the standards could lower CO2 emissions by about 1 billion metric tons. The first phase of the greenhouse gas-related regulations on medium- and heavy-duty vehi-
A new gene has been imbedded into Cleveland’s biomedical DNA. A few local companies are developing drugs that use viruses to insert new genes into people’s cells — a technique that has the potential to reverse a long list of fatal diseases. Among them is Abeona Therapeutics — Cleveland’s newest public company. In May, Dallas-based PlasmaTech Biopharmaceuticals bought Abeona in exchange for PlasmaTech stock that was valued at about $25 million as of last Thursday, June 25. Then PlasmaTech adopted the startup company’s name and hired Abeona CEO Tim Miller to lead the entire operation, which is now based in Cleveland. Why? Like many drug developers these days, PlasmaTech wanted to get into gene therapy. And Abeona looked like a good platform to build on, since it was already developing gene therapies for a fatal group of diseases called Sanfilippo syndrome. Since that deal closed, Abeona has licensed a few more gene therapy technologies and announced plans to establish its headquarters on the
LEGAL AFFAIRS Greater Cleveland’s law firms are struggling when it comes to diversity ■ Pages 11-17 PLUS: ADVISER ■ LGBT WORKPLACE POLICIES ■ & MORE
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