FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--An agreement announced today between Inova Health System and the University of Virginia, set to make Fairfax County home to a major genomics and research institute and medical school, is a big step forward for the health of the economy and residents of the county and Washington region, says Gerald L. Gordon, Ph.D., president and CEO of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA).

“This new relationship is yet another step toward Fairfax County becoming a center for medical innovation and our goal of diversifying the economic base of the county,” said Gordon, who attended the announcement of the partnership at the Inova Center for Personalized Health in the Merrifield area of the county.

“This partnership is an important building block in the creation and development of institutions and facilities that will attract researchers, students and investment around the future of health and build an innovation-based economy,” Gordon said. “It will help with the commercialization of discoveries and the translation of research into treatment that will revolutionize health care. It will be a magnet for businesses that will help commercialize the work and in the process will create jobs and fill office space as they develop this leg of the economy.

“Like international airports and major employers, medical schools and research institutes make communities world-class.”

Gordon added: "The FCEDA is pleased to see this kind of collaboration announced today, because this effort and many other partnerships between the business community, academia, research institutions and government will advance the Fairfax County economy and will also be crucial to improve the lives of people here and around the world."

The $112 million deal solidifies Inova's efforts to become a pace-setter in genomics and cancer research. According to Inova, the agreement includes:

A research partnership to develop the Global Genomics and Bioinformatics Research Institute located at the Inova Center for Personalized Health.

A cancer research partnership between the Inova Schar Cancer Institute and U.Va. Cancer Center, including efforts to achieve designation by the National Cancer Institute as a Comprehensive Cancer Center.

A regional campus of the U.Va. School of Medicine at Inova, which would enable U.Va. medical students to complete their clerkship and post-clerkship education in Northern Virginia at Inova facilities.

U.Va. and Inova will explore the creation of a biomedical investment vehicle to advance discovery through to commercialization.

Inova and Fairfax-based George Mason University, the largest public research university in Virginia, announced in December 2015 that they agreed to share facilities and resources dedicated to personalized medicine. This includes creation of research and development facilities and the Inova-Mason Proteomics Center, and establishment of the Personalized Medicine Public Policy and Ethics Institute.

Time magazine called Fairfax County “one of the great economic success stories of our time.” The award-winning Fairfax County Economic Development Authority promotes Fairfax County as a business and technology center. The FCEDA offers site location and business development assistance, and connections with county and state government agencies, to help companies locate and expand in Fairfax County. In addition to its headquarters in Tysons Corner, Fairfax County’s largest business district, the FCEDA maintains marketing offices in six important global business centers: Bangalore, Berlin, London, Los Angeles, Seoul and Tel Aviv. Follow the FCEDA on Twitter and LinkedIn.