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Indiana boasts a combination of excellent education, skilled workforce, history of renowned corporations, and strategic location in the nation’s center, all of which give it a strong position in biotechnology and life sciences.

Indiana benefits greatly from research occurring at its prestigious academic institutions. At Indiana University (IU) in Bloomington, $54 million was awarded in Fiscal Year 2006 by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation for health and life sciences-related research. At IU’s Indianapolis campus, shared with Purdue University, the School of Medicine is home to many impressive centers and institutes. The Center for Medical Genetics (CMG) seeks to improve health through conducting research with state-of-the-art genomic technologies for studying gene expression and genetics. The Center also provides infrastructure and consulting for the use of genomic technology in research. Other centers at IU include the Biocomplexity Institute, the Linda and Jack Gill Center for Biomolecular Science (GCBS), the Indiana University Cancer Center, and the Biotechnology Research and Training Center, among many other centers.

At Purdue University in West Lafayette, many resources exist that aid Indiana’s life science industry. Purdue is known for an excellent analytical chemistry department, and benefits from such centers and the Purdue Cancer Center, distinguished by the National Cancer Institute. Additionally, Purdue boasts Discovery Park, which aims to link Purdue more closely to the economies of Indiana and the U.S. through its facilities, leadership, and systems. Discovery Park encourages an interdisciplinary environment to advance scientific achievement. The Bindley Bioscience Center (BBC) at Discovery Park blends life sciences and engineering research, both encouraging research collaborations at Purdue while promoting activities to aid the life sciences sector in the state and nation. Purdue also provides its Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC), its technology transfer unit, which serves Purdue University through its commercialization of intellectual property.

At the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, numerous research centers provide Indiana with abundant resources. These include the Walther Cancer Research Center, the W. M. Keck Center for Transgene Research, and the Indiana Center for Insect Genomics. Another school aiding the life science industry is the Rose-Hullman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, with its program in Applied Biology and Biomedical Engineering.

Many internationally recognized biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies reside in Indiana. One of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, Eli Lilly, is located in Indianapolis and employs over 15,000 in Indiana and several thousand worldwide. Other noteworthy companies in the Hoosier State include Dow AgroSciences in Indianapolis; Roche Diagnostics in Indianapolis; Bristol-Myers Squibb in Evansville; and Enzyme Research Labs in South Bend. Important orthopedic firms include Zimmer, DePuy, and Biomet. Indiana is also a center for major health care corporations, such as the Cook Group and Guidant.

Indiana helps to foster growth in the biotechnology industry by providing such incentives as the Indiana 21st Century Research & Technology Fund. The Fund was created by Indiana’s General Assembly to diversify the state’s economy by encouraging innovation and commercialization of advanced technologies. The Indiana Health Industry Forum (IHIF), is a not-for-profit, private sector organization whose members represent an alliance of manufacturers, suppliers, educational institutions, health care providers, service providers, and government. BioCrossroads aims for continued growth in the life science industry by providing money and support to life science businesses, launching new businesses, expanding collaboration among institutions, and providing awareness and marketing for the life science industry of the Hoosier State.

With so many valuable assets at its disposal, Indiana seems assured to remain the "crossroads of America" for the biotechnology and life sciences industry.

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