Indiana Life Sciences

The Indianapolis Region, a 10-county economic development area in Central Indiana which includes Bloomington, Ind., provides incredible value to its residents. A study released last week by the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER) shows that the quarterly composite cost of living index scores for the Indianapolis MSA and the City of Bloomington are just 90.7% and 91.5% of the national average, respectively.  The composite index score incorporates metrics for housing, groceries, utilities, transportation, healthcare and miscellaneous services. 

"These data are continued positive news for companies considering relocating or expanding in the Indianapolis Region," said Matt Waldo, director of research for the Indy Partnership. "The Indianapolis economic development region offers numerous advantages for advanced manufacturing and logistics, life sciences, technology and motorsports industries among others, and the ability to extend a low cost of living to employees is critical."

The scores for each of the cost categories for Indianapolis and Bloomington, may be found on The Indy Partnership web site at

http://www.iredp.com/reportInterface/iw_p1.aspx?fsheet=qol&county=indianapolis%20region

By: Nathan Feltman - Secretary of Commerce and President, Indiana Economic Development Corporation

as seen on Inside Indiana Business



Intellectual capital, public support, academic partnerships, workforce excellence, and business and industry collaborations are the driving Indiana's life sciences industry. As a center of innovation in the life sciences, pharmaceutical and medical device industries for more than a century, the Hoosier state is home to the second-highest concentration of biopharmaceutical jobs in the nation and the fifth largest pharmaceutical industry in the country.

Indiana's life sciences growth continues to accelerate. Witness the recent doubling of work force in nearby clinical laboratories, like AIT Labs and DCL Laboratories, along with the doubling in size of contract biotech manufacturer Cook Pharmica in Bloomington. Consider the thousands of new life sciences jobs that are coming to Indiana after Gov. Mitch Daniels' direction to the Indiana Economic Development Corporation to aggressively seek new job-creating investment in the life sciences to further strengthen and diversify the Hoosier economy. Those efforts have resulted in thousands of new job commitments from companies such as Medco (1,300 new jobs), Arcadia (300 new jobs), Precision Rx (1,200 new jobs) and Beckman Coulter (275 new jobs).

And while the large global companies capture the headlines, the state and BioCrossroads are ensuring the big life sciences companies of tomorrow are incubated and grown in Indiana with the help of seed capital from the state's 21st Century Research and Technology Fund along with BioCrossroads' Seed Fund. Together, these funds have provided seed capital for promising companies like Schwartz BioMedical, Kylin Therapeutics, QuadraSpec and ImmuneWorks, keeping these companies, their technologies and the promise of new high-wage jobs here.

By any measure, when it comes to life sciences and the growth of this highly desirable sector of high-skill, high-value, high-promise jobs and great companies, Indiana is winning. This is competition at its most intense, and we're playing to win.

To deliver that success we must continue to focus on strengthening the ties between innovations developed at our colleges and universities and businesses who can transform those innovations into life-changing and life-saving products and services. We must also ensure that we continue to offer the low-cost, pro-business environment – including low utility costs, workers' compensation and unemployment insurance rates – that has become a hallmark of the Hoosier state.

As our economy faces new challenges with increasing gas prices and tightening credit markets, we must continue steadfast in our effort to strengthen and diversify Indiana's economy in part by building upon our great successes in the life sciences. The high-skilled, high-wage jobs of this industry hold great promise for our state, and together I know we can realize the opportunity that has yet to fully unfold for Hoosiers in this exciting industry.

Nathan Feltman is Indiana Secretary of Commerce&President of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation.

Money Magazine and CNNMoney.com released its "Best Places to Live 2008" issue this week and Hamilton County's Fishers, Ind., ranked 10th out of 100 on the list of "America's Best Small Cities."

"It's quite a climb from being ranked 33rd last year to breaking into the top 10 of America's best places to live among small cities," said Jeff Burt, president of the Hamilton County Alliance, a member of The Indy partnership.

Burt explained that rankings such as Money Magazine's "Best Places to Live" are valuable to Fishers because it helps bring national acclaim to an exceptional community, and it helps local employers recruit personnel from all over the U.S. It also eliminates any barriers that employers considering relocating to Fishers and the Indianapolis Region might have about being able to develop a world-class workforce.



WINNER
Top 100 rank: 10
Population: 61,800

Fishers is growing fast, attracting residents who are young (median age: 30) and smart (over 60% have a bachelor's degree or more). It has the range of pluses common among our top 10, including a strong economy (lots of life-science companies are moving in), low home prices ($149,700 for the typical house) and good schools (they get high rankings in the state).

Though a walkable downtown is still in the planning stages, transportation is already here: Fishers started a commuter bus service to downtown Indianapolis and plans rapid transit via rail in the next two to five years.

When it comes to smart planning and sheer livability, other places could learn a lot from this little city in the Midwest.

By: Ron Gifford - President & CEO, The Indy Partnership

In winning the right to host the 2012 Super Bowl, Indianapolis beat out some tough competition: Houston and Phoenix had both hosted the game before, and both offered the promise of sunny weather and plenty of financial incentives for the NFL.

As seen on Inside Indiana Business with Gerry Dick



Despite these advantages, the Indianapolis region scored a victory with a shrewd and aggressive strategy, selling three decades of experience and investment that has made our region uniquely suited to host major championship events.

Now take this three-city contest and expand it to include every metropolitan area in America – and in some cases, around the world. That’s economic development today, a dog-eat-dog competition for new jobs. In this battle, Indianapolis has built a similarly focused approach – combining our geographic advantages and competitive business climate with strengths in industries like the life sciences, advanced manufacturing, logistics, technology and motorsports.

As a football fan, I was happy to hear that Indianapolis landed the big game. But I’m even more excited about this event in my day job as the head of our regional economic development effort. I’m confident that winning the Super Bowl will help us score more victories in the broader competition for business opportunities.

First, there’s the marketing value. The Super Bowl will bring many of the nation’s most influential corporate executives to Indianapolis – a first-time visit for several of them. Why does this matter? Well, we see this phenomenon time and time again: We’ll host someone who’s never been here, and typically they don’t have much of an impression of the region. And then they get to experience first-hand all that our city has to offer, and they are uniformly blown away. “I had no idea what a great city this is,” is a common refrain. Almost nobody moves their company on the spot, but this exposure certainly builds relationships and lays the groundwork for future business relocations or expansions.

Showing our region at its best to the audience of millions who tune in for the game also provides an invaluable brand-building opportunity. My organization, the Indy Partnership, is a consortium of local economic development organizations from ten counties tasked with marketing the region. Funded by private investment, we engage in a program of advertising, public relations, tradeshow participation and personal outreach to site selection consultants and business leaders.

Our efforts have borne success; 2007, for example, saw relocation, expansion and retention projects committed to create nearly 13,500 new jobs and bring new capital investment of $1.36 billion to the region. We’ve won these competitions despite the fact that our leading competitors spend millions on mass advertising to shape public awareness. The Super Bowl erases much of this advantage, bringing a wave of publicity so significant it would be impossible to buy…and if the city manages the event with its typical aplomb and hospitality, the boost to Indianapolis’ image will give us a solid new foundation to build upon.

There’s also the race for human capital. Dynamic economies are fueled by concentrations of talented people – the regions with the most educated workforces also tend to rank high in per capita income and job growth. Today, the Indianapolis metropolitan area ranks above the national average in college graduates as a percentage of the adult population. But this position is threatened by a ‘brain drain’ that sees too many of our young people leave the state after earning their degrees.

To thrive in the knowledge-based economy, we have to attract and retain more educated workers – Richard Florida’s ‘creative class.’ We can’t offer mountains, beaches, or year-round golf weather to entice tomorrow’s workforce. But a steady diet of world-class sports and cultural amenities, with the excitement that comes with hosting high-visibility events like the Super Bowl, helps put Indianapolis on the map as a great place to live, start a career and raise a family.

The Super Bowl will certainly provide a short-term bonanza for our region’s economy, with more than $120 million in direct spending of the course of game week. But the long-term ramifications are even more powerful: If we take full advantage of this opportunity, we’ll be more than just a destination for football fans in four years – we’ll be further down the road towards being a prime destination for capital, new job opportunities and top talent.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind.  (May 12, 2008) – The Bloomington Economic Development Corporation (BEDC) announced today that Jeremy Sowders has been appointed Vice President, Business Development.  Sowders joined the BEDC May 12. 

“I am very happy that Jeremy has joined our team,” said Ron Walker, President of the BEDC.  “Jeremy understands our community well, and his experience as part of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation's three consecutive years of record breaking job commitments make him an asset that we're certain will allow us to recruit and retain new job-creating investment to our community," Walker said.     

Since 2005, Sowders has served as a Project Manager for the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC), the State of Indiana’s lead economic development agency.  Sowders was focused on business development and retention activities in central and south central Indiana and already has a working relationship with numerous regional employers, the City of Bloomington and Monroe County.  Prior to working with business development and recruitment, Sowders worked in the Office of Domestic and International Recruitment with the Indiana Department of Commerce, before it was dissolved and replaced with the IEDC.

“I’m thrilled to begin focusing my economic development work in the Bloomington and Monroe County community,” said Sowders during his first day at the BEDC.  “The BEDC’s progressive approach and mission really resonate with me and I look forward to helping the organization improve job opportunities and enhance the economic vitality of south central Indiana,” stated Sowders. 

"Jeremy's experience in economic development will continue to serve Indiana well as he transitions into his new role in Bloomington," said Nathan Feltman, Secretary of Commerce and chief executive officer of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation.  "With a growing life sciences community that includes recent announcements from companies like Cook and BioConvergence, Bloomington has been a significant contributor to our continued economic comeback, and I look forward to more great success stories from the community in the coming months."

As Vice President, Business Development, Sowders will assist in the implementation of the BEDC’s economic development efforts, including the Bloomington Life Sciences Partnership, creation of the Bloomington Technology Partnership, business retention and expansion services and product development. 

“Jeremy will strengthen all aspects of the BEDC,” stated Lynn Coyne, 2008 Chair of the BEDC.  “His existing knowledge of the regional economy combined with his natural ability to work with a variety of stakeholders makes him an ideal fit for the organization and for the Bloomington and Monroe County community,” expressed Coyne.

Originally from southern Indiana, Sowders graduated from IU Bloomington in 2003.  Since 2005 Sowders has served on the Board of Directors for the Indiana University Alumni Association’s Central Indiana Chapter, including serving as Chairman for Young Alumni Recruitment.  Additionally, he is a member of the Presidents’ Roundtable of Indy Hub and is a volunteer with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. 

About the BEDC
The BEDC is a not-for-profit, public-private partnership dedicated to the retention, development and attraction of quality jobs in Monroe County.  The BEDC is led by a partnership of private industry leaders, the City of Bloomington, Monroe County, Indiana University and Ivy Tech Community College – Bloomington.  For more information please visit www.comparebloomington.us.

Dormir LLC, the parent of sleep center development and management company MD Sleep and durable medical equipment provider CardioSom, announced today it will expand its corporate headquarters here, creating more than 160 new jobs.

The privately held company, which currently develops and manages physician and hospital-owned sleep disorder centers and durable medical equipment retail locations in 14 states, will invest more than $2.5 million to expand its Central Indiana headquarters and upgrade its computer hardware and software.

"Indianapolis and Carmel represent the ideal location for our corporate headquarters," said Tim Miller, chief executive officer of Dormir LLC. "The geographic location, airport expansion, affordable housing costs and quality of life make central Indiana very appealing to our workforce."

The growth of Indiana's economy is being supported by one of the fastest supercomputers in the country. The Indiana Economic Development Corp. says the new computer puts 20 TeraFLOPS of technical capability for Indiana businesses looking to spin-out technology, increase research grant competitiveness and boost the state's growing life sciences community. The supercomputer has the capacity to handle 20 trillion mathematical operations per second and is co-managed by Purdue University and Indiana University. 
Source: Inside INdiana Business