Nate Feltman: Ricks’ leadership leads to state success

The good news keeps coming from Eli Lilly and Co. Last week, the company announced that it would invest $4.5 billion in Indiana to create a state-of-the-art research and manufacturing facility called the Lilly Medicine Foundry in Lebanon. The new facility will help speed the delivery of next-generation medicines and represent the largest single investment in the state to date. Lilly Medicine Foundry will create 400 new high-paying jobs for highly skilled workers, including engineers and scientists.

In the last two years, Lilly has announced a total of $13 billion in capital investment and 1,300 high-paying jobs in Lebanon. That possibility seemed incredibly unlikely just 2-1/2 years ago.

In early 2022, Lilly announced two major investments outside of Indiana that began to worry city and state leaders: a $1 billion investment in North Carolina that would create 600 high-paying jobs and a $700 million investment in Boston to create the Institute for Genetic Medicine and employ research biologists, chemists and other scientists.

Indiana government and economic development leaders took notice. Why was Indiana losing out on these new investments and high-paying jobs from its finest corporate citizen? The answer came directly from Lilly CEO David Ricks on April 20, 2022, at the Economic Club of Indiana luncheon, which I attended.

Ricks spoke genuinely and honestly, addressing head-on how Lilly must evaluate potential investments in order to ensure its ability to deliver life-saving medicines. He explained that, while Lilly has always had an “Indiana-first approach” when it comes to investment and jobs, being a low-cost, low-tax state is not sufficient today. In order to ensure Lilly’s long-term success, Lilly must locate job-creating investments where it can attract a healthy and skilled workforce.

Ricks went on to describe in detail the hidden business costs of expensive health care, noting that Indiana’s private hospital prices are on average three times the Medicare price and higher than all surrounding states. In addition, Indiana’s mortality rates in stroke, respiratory diseases, diabetes, heart disease and cancer outpace the national average. He also noted that Indiana ranks near the bottom for public health funding and that our K-12 education system is failing too many kids.

I wrote a column following that luncheon applauding Ricks’ honest assessment of Indiana. Clearly, Ricks cares about our city and state and decided to take the time to explain to policymakers what needed to change in order for Lilly to continue to grow in Indiana. Ricks’ tough-love message that day resonated, and leaders across the government, business and not-for-profit sectors went to work to address these important issues.

In 2023, the Legislature made the largest investment in public health in Indiana history, committing $225 million over two years to fund public health and safety services, including chronic disease prevention, early childhood health, and trauma and injury prevention. Early childhood education, along with workforce development, has taken center stage at the Statehouse and is likely to receive more prioritization during the 2025 legislative session. And hospital systems across the state have announced initiatives to lower the cost of health care in Indiana.

An often-underappreciated Hoosier asset is our pragmatic, transparent and collaborative approach to solving problems and chasing opportunities. When Indiana’s government, business and not-for-profit sectors work together and align resources, anything and everything is possible.

Ricks had the courage to ring the alarm bell, and Hoosier leaders across sectors responded. More work is needed to address these critical challenges, but as a result of bold and courageous leadership by many, more Hoosiers will prosper.•

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Feltman is publisher of IBJ and CEO of IBJ Media. Send comments to nfeltman@ibj.com.