Cleveland is home to more than 700 bioscience companies, a powerful ecosystem that draws strength from a clinical, research and educational foundation dedicated to growth and medical innovation. A new rebranding initiative led by a host of area institutions is ready to send this message out into the world.

Called "The Medical Capital," the campaign's centerpiece is a website where visitors can access information regarding biomedical investments and start-up activity in the region. Organizers are also offering a video showcasing the region's burgeoning tech-based assets, complete with testimonials from investors and CEOs. Social media is another facet of the effort.

BioEnterprise president and CEO Aram Nerpouni, whose not-for-profit business accelerator is helping to administer the project, says the website will aggregate locally generated biomedical industry news to share Cleveland's rebranding story all in one place.

"Cleveland and Northeast Ohio have an incredibly rich history in healthcare innovation," says Nerpouni. "Over the last 10 years, (biomedical) has become an important part of the economy where you're seeing investors commit capital to the region."

According to BioEnterprise, Northeast Ohio has attracted more than $2 billion in biomedical start-up equity funding since 2002. About $1 billion has been raised by 160 biomedical companies in the last four years alone, which proponents view as a sign of an increasingly robust innovation economy bolstered by research and commercialization.

Organizations collaborating on the new initiative include BioEnterprise, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland Clinic and Cleveland State University. Though Cleveland is not the first city to promote its high-tech attributes online, the venture is unique in its collaboration of multiple nationally ranked and independent institutions, all striving to promote a unified biomedical environment.

"There's a breadth of participation through industries and philanthropic and civic support,"  says Nerpouni. "Everyone in the region should know that healthcare and biomedical are key to our economic growth."

The Medical Capital campaign will also push Cleveland's story outside of Northeast Ohio, adds the BioEnterprise official. Long term, a sustained influx of funding and talent will further nurture the area's biomedical network.

"It's about creating a critical mass that's self-sustaining and thriving," Nerpouni says.

"It's a remarkable time for Cleveland. We want biomedical to continue to be part of the city's renaissance."