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Ex-Lilly executives open ‘trials’ clinic: Centurion expects high demand from drug firms

A new clinic that is on the cusp of conducting human trials in Indianapolis could distinguish itself as a key player in drug development, not only within the state, but nationally as well. Centurion Clinical Research LLC serves pharmaceutical companies and medical-device makers that need to test their products before they can be approved for widespread use. That first phase, in which healthy people are paid to participate in the overnight studies, is critical in determining the safety and success…

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IP law illuminates growing field for women: Increase mirrors rising number of Internet companies and inventions

But more than a century later, women are protecting more than their own assets-they’re increasingly looking out for the intellectual property of business owners large and small. One of the hottest practice groups within law firms today, intellectual property law falls into four basic areas: copyrights, trademarks, patents and publicity rights. With the exception of patent law, which requires a background in science or engineering, no specialized undergraduate degree is required. Gary Roberts, dean and the Gerald L. Bepko professor…

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RETURN ON TECHNOLOGY: Should you put your head into ‘cloud computing’?

Sometimes just the name of a technology is enough to make me hate it. An example is the new hot thing, “cloud computing.” For one thing, the name has given marketers everywhere a new meme to exploit with puns, clever ad copy and pictures, speeches and slogans. There is even a cloud computing expo, where reportedly cloudy references were so numerous that it stormed inside the hall. Cloud computing is already here, and it’s only going to get deeper and…

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Purdue professor cooks up healthier way to ‘fry’ food: Invention could make microwaves seem like crock pots

A new cooking technology under development at Purdue University could please both dieters looking for lowercalorie meals and food retailers seeking lower costs. It has the potential to produce “fried” foods using vastly less oil, and to cook them at speeds that make microwave ovens seem as slow as crock pots. A Purdue professor is working with Anderson Tool and Engineering Co. in Madison County to create advanced prototypes of the device, called a “radiant fryer.” The first off the…

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Firm off to a FAST start: Investors backing company’s kidney assessment technology

FAST Diagnostics quickly is becoming one of the more promising companies in Indiana University’s efforts to commercialize its discoveries. Incorporated in November 2006, it is developing a method to measure kidney function faster and more accurately than existing techniques can. While FAST represents speed, the name actually stands for functional assessment and surveillance technology. The fledgling firm so far has attracted more than $4 million from investors, including $2 million from the state’s 21st Century Fund. BioCrossroads, Rose Hulman Ventures…

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EDITORIAL: Signs of hope as many retreat: Some shrug off economic fears

Signs of hope as many retreat Some shrug off economic fears The front page of this week’s IBJ tells of companies that are in dire straits-or out of business-after banks, jittery about a financial collapse, called their loans or canceled their credit line. Stories like these put a local face on the economic crisis that has gripped the American psyche in the last two weeks unlike anything since the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Anyone who didn’t realize credit’s vital role…

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IU makes plans to hatch more businesses: Incubator in Bloomington hopes to duplicate success of local Emerging Technologies Center

Ground should be broken late this month or in early November, with completion expected by summer. Cost of the 40,000-square-foot facility-4,000 square feet smaller than the one here-is estimated in the $8 million to $10 million range. While it may be a bit smaller in size, the scope is broader. The new incubator will promote both life sciences companies and information technology firms. That goal differs from the mission of the existing IU Emerging Technologies Center on 10th Street, which…

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Arcadia banking on DailyMed: Company hopes product sales can help it escape debt, lift stock

When Arcadia Resources Inc. moved from Southfield, Mich., to Indianapolis last fall, the Indiana Economic Development Corp. crowed with pride. In exchange for incentives worth more than $6 million, the state had landed the headquarters of a publicly traded life sciences firm with more than 5,000 employees. Even better, the company was ready to launch an innovative new product that promises to improve home health care while simultaneously reducing its cost. A year has passed, but investors still aren’t as…

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RETURN ON TECHNOLOGY: Is securing data worth the cost at your company?

You know, I love my business brethren. I really do. I admire their tenacity, their courage, their competitiveness. But I have to admit that we are a penny-pinching bunch, and sometimes it impinges on our ethics in ways that are a little embarrassing. An article in a Wall Street Journal blog (www.blogs.wsj.com) points out an example. Technology professionals have long groused that, while their employers talk about securing data properly, there’s rarely enough money to do the job well. Security…

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Filing in legal battle over telecom company hints at criminal probe of officers

Former insiders of One Call Communications appear to be targets of a Justice Department criminal inquiry, according to a filing by the defunct company’s court-appointed receiver. Pittsburgh-based Meridian Group said it was served a subpoena Sept. 19 from the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania to testify before a grand jury on Oct. 21 on matters involving One Call.

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AT&T’s U-verse generates complaints as cable rival is rolled out

A baby born of Indiana telecom reform is having some teething pains. AT&T’s U-verse, Ma Bell’s high-tech answer to
cable television’s troika of video/voice/Internet service, has generated several consumer complaints to
state regulators since it was rolled out here in earnest last year. The complaints range from long installation
times to frozen television pictures that require rebooting the system or calling a technician.

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Short trip, big move for Bose: Intense planning smooths law firm’s HQ transition

Looking east from the 27th floor of Chase Tower, lawyers at Bose McKinney & Evans LLP can clearly see their former offices at M&I Plaza. But the short distance didn’t make the firm’s traipse across Pennsylvania Street to its new home any easier. Just ask Vicki L. Bruce, the firm’s chief operations officer, who coordinated the cumbersome move that concluded Labor Day weekend. “You still have to load up a truck,” she said, “and it has to be staged properly.”…

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Hands-on strategy turns Mike’s Carwash into industry model

Mike’s Express Carwash makes money the old-fashioned way. The second-generation family affair, now celebrating its 60th
year, has invested its reserves in steady expansion, becoming a model for the $23.4 billion industry in
the process. And its owners still sweat the small stuff.

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Orchestrating moves: Firm that specializes in relocating businesses conducting transition of its own

Moving coordinating company Relocation Strategies Inc. is used to dealing with companies in transition. Now the firm is undergoing one of its own-albeit of a different sort. Relocation Strategies founder David Bayse is relinquishing ownership to partner Melissa Lamb Brown in a purchase agreement set to be completed within the next four years. She already owns a majority of the business and will acquire the rest in stages. In the meantime, Bayse, 57, will continue to guide Brown, 39, who…

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Planners to pare down commuter-rail options: Vote for light diesel trains would precede design

Goodbye elevated guideway. Goodbye buses zooming down paved-over rail beds. For that matter, forget about commuter trains running down the median of Binford Boulevard and I-69. Or along Allisonville Road or Keystone Avenue. These northeast corridor rapid-transit options, cheered and jeered by residents in the debate over rapid transit, officially get thrown from the train on Sept. 26. That’s if a regional government group votes to accept the recommendation of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Planning Organization for running diesel light rail…

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Tough economy touching all industries, but some are hurting more than others

Stock markets are falling, jobs are disappearing, and the outlook for the economy seems grim. Banks, real estate developers,
retailers and manufacturers are taking the worst hits, but all types of businesses in central Indiana are hurting. From health
care to technology, education to philanthropy, every industry is trying to take the setbacks in stride.

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Eco groups divided over gasification: New power plant has many critics, but some say it’s a necessary step

One might think a technology promising greener electric generation would please most environmentalists. Duke Energy Corp.’s 630-megawatt coal-gasification plant, scheduled to go online in Edwardsport in 2012, is expected to emit less sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and particulates than the smaller, 1940s-era plant it replaces-while generating 10 times as much electricity. However, more than a dozen Indiana and national advocacy groups are decrying the $2.3 billion plant being footed mostly by ratepayers, claiming it will raise emissions of greenhouse gas…

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Airport hoping to double ad revenue with digital push

Indianapolis International Airport officials hope to double advertising revenue, pushing it past $1 million, when the midfield
terminal opens in November. That income, officials said, is important because it helps ease pressure on cash-strapped
airlines, allowing them to focus on offering more flights. The airport relies on non-airline revenue, such as food sales and
advertising, for about 60 percent of its revenue.

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IT firm rakes in VC cash: Interactions Corp. has raised $35M since 2002 inception

A fast-growing Carmel startup is using a blend of innovative software and human guides to answer questions over the phone.
The company could have located on either coast, but instead chose Carmel’s Clay Terrace. And the company, Interactions Corp.,
has raised more than twice as much money as ChaCha Search Inc., a higher-profile startup in a similar business that’s also
housed in Clay Terrace.

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