Expected revenue slump spurs Lilly to cut sales force
The Indianapolis pharmaceuticals giant said Thursday that it would lay off hundreds of U.S. sales reps, as it prepares for the loss of patent protection on two of its best-selling drugs.
Life Science & Biotech
Articles
Lilly pulls back from proposals lowering takeover barriers
Fortunately, a Lilly takeover looks less likely today than it has in a long time—for both obvious and more subtle reasons.
City to buy key parcel for 16th Street tech corridor
The city of Indianapolis is poised to pay Citizens Energy Group $6.5 million to buy a key parcel of real estate it’s targeting as the centerpiece of its ambitious 16 Tech project.
Lilly to spend $180M doubling size of Indy plant
The new investment will bring the plant’s total price tag to $320 million as the pharmaceutical giant seeks to increase production of insulin and related products.
Sherry Labs snapped up by Netherlands corporation
The materials-testing business with nearly 300 employees has been acquired by Element Materials Technology. Sherry had been owned by a group of well-connected central Indiana businessmen.
Profits at center of biosimilars debate
House Bill 1315, which is scheduled for a Senate floor hearing on Monday, would require pharmacists to check with a patient’s physician before automatically substituting a generic version of a biotech drug for a brand-name version.
Medical device maker moving to Noblesville, adding jobs
Fishers-based Nexxt Spine LLC, a manufacturer of spinal implants, is consolidating operations and moving its headquarters and manufacturing facility to Noblesville.
Q&A
Mike Sherman, the chief financial officer at West Lafayette-based Endocyte Inc., talked about how the drug firm’s funding partnership with New Jersey-based Merck & Co. Inc. has helped accelerate development of the company’s pipeline, which is branching out into drugs to treat cancers of the lung, prostate and breast.
Lilly sues Genentech to invalidate Erbitux-related patents
Eli Lilly and Co. has sued Roche Holding AG’s Genentech unit, asking a court to invalidate patents used to make treatments for cancer and autoimmune diseases.
Dow AgroSciences wins bid to overturn pesticide guidelines
Indianapolis-based Dow Agrosciences LLC and two other pesticide makers won a bid to overturn U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service proposals to protect salmon when an appeals court found the agency’s decision “arbitrary and capricious.”
Lilly to expand partnership with diagnostic firm
Diagnostic products maker Qiagen NV said Wednesday that it will work with Eli Lilly and Co. to develop new tests that could identify patients who could be helped by Lilly’s drugs.
’12 worst year for life sciences since 1990s
To understand why Indiana’s life sciences entrepreneurs are frustrated with the flow of venture capital, look no further than this statistic from a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers report: 2012 was the slowest year for first-time life sciences investment since 1995.
Indiana officials look to boost agriculture research
The state's agriculture department under new Gov. Mike Pence is planning a push into the science behind food production by trying to build a network of university and commercial researchers for what's being called an Agriculture Innovation Corridor.
Health care startups hungry for funds
Frustrated by up-and-down state funding for startup life sciences companies, industry leaders are talking up a plan to create a dedicated funding stream that could total $30 million a year.
Zimmer’s earnings slip, but beat expectations
Fourth-quarter profit fell 2 percent at Zimmer Holdings Inc. due to large accounting charges, but still beat the estimates of Wall Street analysts.
Dow Agro enjoys double-digit profit growth
Earnings rose 7.6 percent during the fourth quarter at Indianapolis-based Dow AgroSciences LLC as overall sales shot up 17 percent.
BioCrossroads: Life sciences a $50B industry in Indiana
The life sciences industry in Indiana employs 55,500 workers paying average wages of more than $88,500 per year, according to new figures released Tuesday by Indianapolis-based life sciences development group BioCrossroads.
Pence wants $1.5M a year for life sciences institute
The Indiana Applied Research Enterprise already has received support from John Lechleiter, CEO of Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Co., as a place for collaboration between academic and industrial scientists.
Former state ag director joins Dow AgroSciences
Joseph Kelsay, who had served as director of Indiana’s Department of Agriculture since 2009, is joining Dow AgroSciences’ government affairs team as senior manager of biotechnology affairs.
BioCrossroads seed fund makes first investments
Local startups Esanex Inc. and Algaeon Inc. have received $500,000 and $250,000, respectively, from Indiana Seed Fund II, BioCrossroads’ second fund to help fledgling life sciences companies.