Name the first thing you think of when someone says "Indiana." This old mind game would probably yield a few common responses: cornfields, basketball, auto racing. Between Larry Bird and the Indy 500, there wouldn't be many mentions of the life sciences or biotechnology. Certainly, it's still a fairly well-kept secret that Indiana boasts the nation's 5th-largest pharmaceuticals and medical device manufacturing economies.

Tenants of Indiana University's Emerging Technologies Center, a health and life sciences incubator in downtown Indianapolis, can benefit from direct contact with IU schools and programs across the state.

        As Indiana continues to strengthen and diversify its life sciences sector, it's surprising for many to note that the same state that gave us Bobby Knight and Orville Redenbacher is also home to bio-industry giants like Eli Lilly & Company, Roche Diagnostics, Dow AgroSciences, Guidant and the Cook Group. Or that the Hoosier State is home to the nation's largest university-affiliated business incubator (the Purdue Research Park) and its second-largest medical school (Indiana Uni-versity). In all, Indiana's life sciences industry encompasses nearly 1,200 companies that employ 320,000 workers.
        So, businesses that seek to relocate to or expand in Indiana would be in good company ­ and they would gain key competitive advantages.
        First, life sciences companies benefit from proximity to sources of innovation and collaboration. By locating in Central Indiana, businesses put themselves within a short distance of several internationally-known research institutions. The Indiana University School of Medicine boasts a broad array of research capabilities, in neuroscience, genomics and more. Purdue University has varied life sciences programs, in biomedical engineering, nanotechnology and a host of others, along with a national reputation for aggressive tech transfer and commercialization. Between them, these universities offer two of the nation's top four analytical chemistry programs, and have formed a partnership with Eli Lilly to conduct and commercialize cutting-edge proteomics research. Among Indiana's private institutions, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology has the best engineering programs in nation, with strong capabilities in biomedical research. The University of Notre Dame is among the top private U.S. research universities, with exceptional strength in biomechanics and biomaterials in orthopaedics.
        Indiana companies are encouraged to tap into the research capabilities of these institutions. A state-funded grant program, the 21st Century Research and Technology Fund, provides seed monies to encourage economic partnerships between private industry and academia.
        In a time when budget woes are forcing many states to curtail critical economic investments, Indiana is also taking the lead in tax reform and "innovation infrastructure." In 2002, the Indiana General Assembly passed the most sweeping tax restructuring in a generation, doubling the state's R&D tax credit (now 10%, 6th-highest in the nation) while establishing a generous venture capital tax credit and eliminating the corporate gross income and inventory taxes.
        In 2003, state government took another step further by investing heavily in university research capacity (of special interest, new research facilities for the IU School of Medicine and expanding Purdue's biomedical engineering program) and funding a statewide network of research parks to complement an already-strong group of university-affiliated incubators.

Purdue Research Park is the largest university-affiliated incubation complex in the nation, housing more than 90 companies.

        To help companies take advantage of this exceptional climate for growth, Central Indiana offers the services of the Indy Partnership, a not-for-profit economic development organization that offers an array of business services, including building and site selection support, access to capital and economic incentives and marketing. The Indy Partnership also works closely with the Central Indiana Life Sciences Initiative and the Indiana Health Industry Forum, organizations that can introduce companies to Indiana's thriving life sciences community.
        The state has a growing reputation as the Midwest's life sciences hotbed and soon, cutting-edge research will take the place of amber waves of grain as the popular phrases associated with Indiana. To learn more about how you can be a part of it, call The Indy Partnership at (317) 236-6262 or visit www.indypartnership.org.

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