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Startup drug firm lands veteran help: Immune Works, a fledgling firm with a promising lung drug, attracts former Indiana Health Industry Forum leader Lange

A startup firm using Indiana University medical research to treat a fatal lung disease is raising money for clinical trials and has recruited a prominent life sciences veteran to lead the effort. Michael Klemsz, an associate professor at the IU School of Medicine, and Dr. David Wilkes, director of the school’s Center for Immunobiology, founded Immune Works LLC in January 2006 along with Ronald Meeusen. Meeusen, a former Dow-AgroSciences researcher and BioCrossroads executive, served as a part-time president and CEO…

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VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: For a healthier economy, we need healthier Hoosiers

Indiana needs a trip to the doctor-and a stern lecture when we get there. We’re among the nation’s unhealthiest states. More than one of every four Hoosiers is obese, and we rank among the 10 worst states for smoking and high cholesterol. The outcomes should come put more stress on the system and drive up prices and premiums for everyone. Gov. Daniels has signed a progressive bill that provides affordable health insurance with a medical savings account plan to Hoosiers…

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Indiana’s life sciences resources to be catalogued:

An idea fermenting for some time in the minds of several Indiana Health Industry Forum insiders has solidified into a plan to catalogue all life sciences-related resources across the state. The not-for-profit group, which promotes economic development in the health care and life sciences industries, will use the information to create strategies for communities, regions and the state to boost Indiana’s growth in the industry. Companies including Eli Lilly and Co., Roche Diagnostics and Zimmer Holdings have put the state…

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Speeding Toward Better Health: Regenstrief Institute continues to fine-tune a medical-records system that many think could someday become a national model

Regenstrief Institute continues to fine-tune a medical-records system that many think could someday become a national model The Regenstrief Institute is a racing team. Only instead of drivers and grease monkeys, the Indianapolis-based medical research group has doctors and computer geeks. And instead of a race car, Regenstrief runs a massive computer database with 35 years of medical records from Indianapolis-area patients. But Regenstrief’s mission is still all about speed. The not-for-profit is driving to discover better ways to care…

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Methodist, Decatur hospitals team up at Honda site: Providers supplying on-site, off-site health care to construction workers on $500 million auto plant project

A major construction project is like a football game-no matter how careful everyone is, sooner or later someone is going to get hurt, at least a little. Indianapolis-based Methodist Occupational Health Centers Inc., which is part of Clarian Health Partners, is partnering with Decatur County Memorial Hospital to provide an answer to this problem at the Honda automobile plant construction site in Greensburg. The two institutions are providing on-site medical services and offsite treatment facilities for workers at the $550…

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EYE ON THE PIE: Health care and the pursuit of happiness

Some people believe the Fourth of July grants them liberty to disturb the night with their firecrackers. My pursuit of happiness is in conflict with theirs and I want them jailed. We all gladly infringe on the liberties of others while in pursuit of our own happiness. For example, should motorcyclists wear helmets? Yes, if all of us expect to pay their hospital bills (through higher premiums) and maintain them on disability after they have head injuries that might be…

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Richest soon may assume larger share of tax burden: BULLS & BEARS

The rise in property taxes and a doubling of the Marion County income tax have residents steaming. Yet as IBJ columnist Ron Gifford noted in his column last week, you can argue about which taxes legislators should increase-whether on property, income or sales-but the fact is that governments need more revenue, and, therefore, a variety of taxes are rising. Paying tax is not the most pleasant of human endeavors. However, in a capitalistic society, taxes are necessary and, when applied…

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Physician assistants taking on larger role: New law allowing prescribing power makes profession more appealing

Indiana’s physician assistants received a collective shot in the arm earlier this month when their authority to prescribe medicine to patients became effective. The profession had long lobbied lawmakers for the right before the Legislature relented with the passage of House Bill 1241 this year. July 1 officially marked the milestone in which Indiana became the last state in the nation to grant prescribing powers to physician assistants. “It’s the right thing to do,” said Dr. John Lucich, director of…

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WEDJ one year later: Ratings more than double: Revenue growth pushes Hispanic station toward record

After years languishing as a ratings bottom feeder, WEDJ-FM 107.1 is quickly moving up the radio charts with its Hispanic format and is positioned to crack the market’s top 10 stations. Since local radio veteran Russ Dodge was hired as general manager in late April 2006, WEDJ’s rating for area listeners 12 and older has more than doubled, from 1.0 to 2.1, according to New York-based Arbitron Co. WEDJ’s morning show is ranked No. 3 with listeners ages 18 to…

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INVESTING: Tax hikes are just what the bull market doesn’t need

The seed of the next bear market might have just been planted, and what better place than right here in the Crossroads of America. A seed is a tiny and innocent thing. But one tiny seed from a destructive weed can ruin an entire garden. A little background for those who don’t live in Indianapolis (or for those who do but don’t follow local politics): For years, there has been a gaping hole in the promised retirement benefits for retired…

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City steps up effort to help immigrants: Mayor’s wife spearheading program to better acclimate newcomers

The burgeoning number of immigrants arriving in Indianapolis have a new source available to help them navigate unfamiliar surroundings and the kaleidoscope of social support systems available. The Immigrant Welcome Center is a program launched in October that uses volunteers dubbed “natural helpers” to link foreign newcomers to such basic needs as health care, government and transportation services. Although the effort is nearly 9 months old, it’s just now getting up to speed as organizers are interviewing candidates to lead…

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Union targets IPL over efficiency, customer programs: Is workers’ group taking on utility advocacy role?

A union that’s aggressively sought to organize the city’s janitors unsuccessfully tried to intervene in an Indianapolis Power & Light case before state utility regulators. IPL’s lawyers mopped the floor with the tenacious union-this time, anyway. The Service Employees International Union Local 3 wants IPL to expand its energy-efficiency and low-income customer assistance program, arguing that IPL and other utilities need to do more to help lower-income workers afford service. Attorneys who argue before the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission said…

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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Long spoiled by low rates, nation now faces increase

It wasn’t long ago that writing an economic analysis column meant-surprise-that you analyzed the ups and downs of the economy. And if you came of age in the 1960s and ’70s, there were plenty of ups and downs to keep track of. Volatility in just about everything was higher then, with strikes, inflation and more frequent recessions the order of the day. And even though that environment has changed remarkably since the mid-’80s, the habit of peering at the data…

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BULLS & BEARS: Answers to tax questions are sometimes surprising

Taxes are always a consideration in investment decisionmaking. Investors need to be vigilant to changes in the tax code, because from year to year there may be changes that can affect the choices they make. And while there are some broad tax generalities, an individual’s tax profile is specific to that person. Navigating the tax code can be daunting. Yet with some tedious reading and a strong dose of common sense, investors can arrive at rational decisions. I have found…

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As barriers drop, even small firms go global: Local company pushed its blood monitor worldwide

Here’s one way to send your company’s revenue through the roof: Push your product into 70 countries around the world. That’s easier said than done, of course. But it’s exactly the path Polymer Technology Systems Inc. took to help quadruple sales of its cholesterol-checking device in the last three years. How Indianapolis-based PTS pulled off the feat shows how even small companies in Middle America can become global enterprises in today’s economy. In fact, the possibility of worldwide expansion is…

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Reaching the Pinnacle: Local women forge a path to the top in health care management

Local women forge a path to the top in health care management Health care is the second-fastest-growing sector of the U.S. economy, employing more than 12 million workers, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Women make up nearly 80 percent of the health care work force, and increasingly they’re moving into the executive ranks. Locally, St. Vincent Indianapolis Hospital, Riley Hospital for Children and Noblesville’s Riverview Hospital all have women at the helm. And women hold top…

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INVESTING: Modern portfolio theory may spawn mediocre returns

A tenet of modern portfolio theory is the call to diversify. Over the long haul, equities have gone up twothirds of the time. That means losses have occurred onethird of the time-and they’ve sometimes been severe. Hypothetically, a greater mix of asset classes should protect against the downside and perhaps even provide a portfolio with gains even when equities are down. But diversify into what? Thirty years ago, when modern portfolio theory was just gaining ground, investors had few choices….

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VIEWPOINT: What you eat hits your bottom line

For most companies, medical costs eat up half or more of corporate profits. Employees in poor health hurt the bottom line through sick days and productivity losses from chronic disease, including diabetes, obesity, cancer and heart diseases. But on a hopeful note, corporate wellness programs often show a high return on investment. Du Pont saw that each dollar invested in workplace health promotion yielded $1.42 over two years in lower absenteeism costs. The Travelers Corp. claimed a $3.40 return for…

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New WellPoint plan makes wellness push: Program lets members join fitness clubs-for free

Want to join a gym but don’t feel like splurging for the membership? No problem, if your company is one of a handful to offer a new wellness product that lets employees exercise at no charge. Called InTune, the program from Indianapolis-based insurance giant WellPoint Inc. is loaded with an array of services not unlike existing wellness offerings. Online and in-person coaching, diet advisers and holistic practitioners are among the benefits, for instance. But it’s the free gym membership that…

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INVESTING: Outlook bright long term, but look out for potholes

Bull markets can take many forms, depending on the investor’s perspective. Terms like secular and cyclical get thrown around, along with more obscure references to Kondratief Waves and Fibonacci sequences. I know day traders who think a bull market lasts only two hours. Then there’s Warren Buffett, who still has a few positions he bought in 1974. I remember cruising around Indianapolis eight years ago looking for a home so my family could move from Florida and seeing gas at…

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