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Eye research could spawn biotech product: Cornea Research Foundation aims to reduce global shortage of corneal transplants

Peering into a high-powered microscope in cramped, shared lab space at Indiana University Medical Center, Dr. Juan Carlos Grandin is trying to see a solution to a worldwide problem: a shortage of corneas available for transplants. If he’s successful, Grandin’s work could one day lead to a new biotech product for an Indianapolis company. Officials from Indianapolis-based EndGenitor are watching the project but currently have no stake in it. At the very least, Grandin’s work provides a bit of prestige…

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Lilly’s plan to outsource more work is good news, bad news

Eli Lilly and Co. will shrink itself with “great intensity” over the next few years, in part by
outsourcing. For other local life sciences firms, that’s a fat pitch for new business. But it’s not clear if non-Lilly firms
can grow fast enough to offset the jobs and wages Indianapolis will lose from Lilly.

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Full incubator widens reach: Tech center to help non-tenants

The “no vacancy” sign hanging at an Indiana University business incubator has prompted officials to launch a program in which startup companies can gain access to support services without renting space. IU’s Emerging Technologies Center, on West 10th Street near the Central Canal, houses 25 companies in about 44,000 square feet of space. The center has been operating at full capacity the past two years and has a waiting list of four companies. For those who can’t get into the…

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VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: Technology, life sciences creating new Hoosier jobs

While other states strive to find their places in today’s international economy, the Hoosier state has made a reputation for itself in the life sciences arena. It’s an important effort, especially when you consider that our state’s past successes were in the field of manufacturing. Con sidering that the 2007 Indiana Manufacturers Directory reports Indiana lost more than 17,000 manufacturing jobs in the past year, this new economic model built upon technology and life sciences is important, if not essential,…

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White River State Park to choose new marketing firm: Attraction’s growing profile lures a slew of bidders

Leaders at White River State Park are winnowing down a field of 18 candidates who want to lead the downtown attraction’s public relations and marketing efforts the next two to three years. Park Executive Director Bob Whitt said a winner has not yet been chosen and declined to comment on the selection process, but industry sources identified three finalists: locally based firms Borshoff and Hirons & Co., and Bandy Carroll Hellige of Louisville. When park officials put out the call…

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Health care top choice in career poll: Student interest in technology jobs holds steady, state survey finds

Recent results from an annual survey show health services remains the most popular career choice among Indiana high-school juniors planning to go to college. The questionnaire was administered by Learn More Indiana, an effort to promote college and career planning supported by the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, as well as a few other state agencies. Learn More Indiana has existed for about 20 years, but had been known as the Indiana College Admissions and Placement Center before the arrival…

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Commentary: To the victor go the schools?

I have no idea who will get the job of mayor of Indianapolis come Nov. 7. But whoever it is can make a real difference in this town by tackling its most pressing issue: public schools. Good schools are the lifeblood of any community. They increase property values, lower crime and make your municipality more attractive to companies looking to relocate. Marion County schools haven’t had the best track records. Whether it’s Indianapolis Public Schools and its academic performance, Washington…

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EDITORIAL: Tough love for struggling park: State’s high standards deserve praise

Tough love for struggling park State’s high standards deserve praise It would be easy for the state’s certified technology park initiative to degenerate into a handout program with little or no accountability. If communities in all corners of the state get a park, along with the accompanying tax benefits and grants, everyone’s happy, right? Perhaps. But for the Indiana Economic Development Corp. to deploy resources in the most potent manner, it must focus on the parks with the potential to…

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City’s life sciences corridor to get $4M in improvements

City planners have long envisioned a high-tech corridor of life sciences research buildings and businesses extending northwest
of downtown to 16th Street. And the city is now spending $4 million on infrastructure and streetscape improvements toward
that end, as well as signage identifying the area as a life sciences hub.

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Arcadia Resources HQ lured to city by central location:

Arcadia Resources Inc. CEO Marvin Richardson, an Anderson native and Purdue University pharmacy graduate, said Indianapolis was chosen for the company’s new headquarters because the city’s central location will create an advantage when it launches a new drug-packaging system. The system, called DailyMed, will help patients manage their prescription pills. The company plans to open a distribution center for DailyMed in the near future that eventually could employ 300 or more. Arcadia will move from the Detroit suburb of Southfield….

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Marketing firm broadens offerings, narrows focus: Hetrick projects 20-percent growth on fewer clients

In the last year, Hetrick Communications has hired 10 employees, added a major new client, and changed its focus. What was once primarily a public relations firm is now also an advertising agency targeting health care and life sciences. On the heels of the changes, Hetrick actually wants fewer clients. “We want fewer, bigger clients,” said Amy Ahlersmeyer, the firm’s president and chief operating officer. “We want our growth to come absolutely in the health care and life sciences sector.”…

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FlowCo on verge: BioCrossroads grant boosts promising biotech firm

Drug-coated stents, which are used to open clogged arteries, can be life savers-if they’re implanted correctly. The $6 billion global stent market has come under scrutiny lately from doctors and researchers concerned that poor technique by cardiologists may contribute to rare but dangerous blood clots that can form after a stent is inserted. Stents that aren’t placed properly over the affected area may enable clots to form. But a device developed by an IUPUI researcher could prevent mishaps by helping…

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Capital key topic at forum: Fourth life sciences event grows with local industry

The pulse of Indiana’s fledgling life sciences sector will be taken later this month at an annual conference featuring some of the industry’s strongest advocates. Experts will weigh in on several topics ranging from the discovery of technology to accessing capital, which is a growing concern for the earliest-stage companies that are riskier investments. In its fourth year, the Indiana Life Sciences Forum will take place Oct. 22-23 at the Westin Indianapolis and will be hosted by Indiana business-development initiative…

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STARTUP GAZELLE WEB & CONSULTING LLC: Entrepreneur offers to help entrepreneurs

STARTUP GAZELLE WEB & CONSULTING LLC Entrepreneur offers to help entrepreneurs Type of business: Consults with startup and growing companies Location: 885 Waveland Lane, Greenwood Phone: 450-7746 E-mail: lott.brandon@gmail.comWeb site: www.gazellewebandconsulting.comFounded: December 2006 Owner: Brandon Lott Owner’s background: Lott, 33, grew up in the south side of Indianapolis and graduated from Indiana University in 1998 with a health care degree. He went to New York in 2005 to work as an operations manager for retailer Alan Flusser Custom Shop, but…

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Strides taken in life sciences, experts say: Industry panel: Thanks to ongoing efforts, Indiana has experienced serious progress as biomedical hotbed during last 5 years

Five leaders of Indiana’s life sciences industry offered their perspectives at the Indiana Convention Center June 26 as part of the Indianapolis Business Journal’s Power Breakfast Series. The panelists: Mike Arpey, managing director of global investment bank Credit Suisse’s Asset Management Division and manager of the $73 million Indiana Future Fund for BioCrossroads, the state’s life sciences economicdevelopment initiative. Ron Ellis, co-founder, president and CEO of Lafayettebased Endocyte Inc., a biotechnology company focused on the treatment of cancer through receptor-targeted…

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VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: Life sciences patents still alive after Supreme decision

In late April, the U.S. Supreme Court decided an important case-KSR International v. Teleflex Inc.-that addressed the test for determining whether a patent is obvious and therefore invalid. As is often the case, the court’s opinion set off considerable speculation about how broadly it should be interpreted: Does it establish a broad, general principle? Is it creating a trend that patents are more likely to be found obvious in the future? Or is its significance limited to the patent in…

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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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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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VIEWPOINT: Domestic ‘insourcing’ our way to job growth

Anchor Lou Dobbs of CNN is a pest to some folks and a hero for others. His recurring economic message laments a view of U.S. workers losing out as companies send jobs overseas. Dobbs’ critics, of course, cite his convenient omission of the many interna tional companies that invest in U.S. communities through new manufacturing plants, research facilities and other initiatives. Love the debate or detest it, but consider this: Hasn’t Dobbs helped stir a discussion about how the new…

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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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