Central Indiana’s health care and life sciences industries have no shortage of initiatives, but it can sometimes be challenging to tell them apart.
There’s BioCrossroads, BioHeartland and Heartland BioWorks. Then there’s Catalyze Indiana and Catalyze Central Indiana.
Some are related. Others aren’t. And despite their similar names, they have different missions, leadership and funding sources.
If you’re having trouble keeping them straight, you’re probably not alone. So here’s a guide to who’s doing what.
Catalyze Central Indiana and Catalyze Indiana
The Central Indiana Regional Development Authority, or CIRDA, announced last week that it adopted a regional economic development strategy called Catalyze Central Indiana.
The plan seeks to unite 32 central Indiana communities to attract life sciences investment, encourage collaboration among the region’s industries and create higher-wage jobs. It emphasizes the connections among human, animal and plant health, agriculture, manufacturing and logistics.
CIRDA Executive Director Jennifer Messer said in an email that the strategy is intended to “outline how we increase central Indiana’s opportunity to land life sciences investments.”
Catalyze Indiana, meanwhile, is a separate effort led by the CEOs of Indiana Corporate Partnership, or CICP, to make the state an international leader in advanced chemistry research and innovation. (The 27-year-old CICP had its own experience with branding this year, changing its name from the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership in March.)
Catalyze Indiana’s first major initiative is the Catalyst Scholars Fund, a five-year effort to recruit up to 45 researchers and their teams to Indiana University, Purdue University, the University of Notre Dame and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.
The fund is backed by a $69.4 million Lilly Endowment grant to the CICP Foundation, along with financial commitments from the participating universities.
In short, Catalyze Central Indiana is about attracting life sciences investment to the region, while Catalyze Indiana is about building the state’s advanced chemistry research capabilities.
BioCrossroads, BioHeartland and Heartland BioWorks
BioCrossroads is an Indianapolis-based organization established in 2002 to grow Indiana’s life sciences industry through investment, research, entrepreneurship and collaboration.
Led by CEO Vince Wong, BioCrossroads is one of five industry and workforce initiatives sponsored by the CICP. The others are AgriNovus Indiana, Ascend Indiana, Conexus Indiana and TechPoint.
BioHeartland, on the other hand, isn’t another organization. It is a name intended to give Indiana’s biosciences industry a recognizable identity.
Unveiled in May by CICP, BioCrossroads, AgriNovus and CIRDA, the BioHeartland branding initiative is intended to help Indiana compete for biosciences investment and talent by promoting the state’s strengths in human, animal and plant health.
The idea behind it is to give Indiana’s biosciences industry the kind of recognition enjoyed by North Carolina’s Research Triangle or California’s Silicon Valley.
Heartland BioWorks is something different altogether.
Led by the nonprofit Applied Research Institute, Heartland BioWorks is a federally designated technology hub focused on biomanufacturing innovation, workforce development and support for emerging biotechnology companies.
The initiative was selected in July 2024 to receive $51 million in federal funding under the CHIPS and Science Act. (CHIPS, by the way, stands for Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors.)
Construction is underway on a $24.3 million Heartland BioWorks headquarters and training facility at the 16 Tech Innovation District in Indianapolis.
To summarize: BioCrossroads helps grow the industry, BioHeartland promotes the industry’s identity and Heartland BioWorks works to develop its biomanufacturing capabilities.
One Health Innovation District and Indy Health District
Both have “health” and “district” in their names. Both are major developments in Indianapolis. But their missions are different.
The One Health Innovation District is a research and economic development project on the western edge of downtown Indianapolis, where Elanco Animal Health and Purdue University are working to bring together human, animal and plant health research.
The district, announced in 2024, includes Elanco’s new 220,000-square-foot headquarters on the former General Motors stamping plant property.
Last month, Elanco and Purdue broke ground on the planned 150,000-square-foot One Health Research Institute, which will provide research laboratories, shared equipment and space for scientists, industry partners and entrepreneurs.
The Indy Health District, meanwhile, focuses on improving health and quality of life for residents of five neighborhoods near Indiana University Health’s new downtown hospital campus.
Led by Executive Director Jamal Smith, the nonprofit initiative brings together IU Health, the Indiana University School of Medicine, The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, Citizens Energy Group, Ivy Tech Community College and neighborhood representatives.
The Indy Health District’s 1,500-acre footprint stretches north from St. Clair Street to 38th Street. Its priorities include improving access to healthy food, housing, education and employment opportunities while addressing disparities in life expectancy.
One district is designed largely to advance research and economic development. The other aims to make the surrounding community healthier.
Lilly Endowment and Lilly Foundation
Finally, two major philanthropic organizations share a famous name but operate independently of one another.
Lilly Endowment Inc., established in 1937 through stock gifts from members of Eli Lilly and Co.’s founding family, is one of the nation’s largest private foundations.
Led by CEO N. Clay Robbins, it concentrates its grantmaking on education, religion and community development, with a particular commitment to Indianapolis and Indiana.
Although it is the largest shareholder of Lilly company stock, Lilly Endowment operates independently from the Indianapolis-based drugmaker.
The Eli Lilly and Co. Foundation, commonly called the Lilly Foundation, is a different entity.
Established by the pharmaceutical company in 1968 and led by President Cynthia Cardona, the Lilly Foundation is supported by company donations. Its philanthropic priorities include global health, K-12 STEM education, economic mobility and strengthening communities.
The distinction is simple: Lilly Endowment is independent of the pharmaceutical company. The Lilly Foundation is supported by it.