INDIANAPOLIS (Feb. 14, 2022)  ̶  Back in the early 2000’s no one had a doubt that Indiana was home to world-class life sciences assets, but the community was missing the opportunity to collectively advance its strengths. A coalition of organizations and business leaders decided to ensure that Central Indiana and the entire state, took advantage of the sector. With a more than 100-year legacy of life sciences with companies including Eli Lilly and Company, Roche Diagnostics, Cook Medical and Zimmer Biomet; a significant number of contract research and manufacturing organizations; an emerging start-up community; and three research universities, there was a lot to be gained by having the sector work collaboratively.

On February 13, 2002, these stakeholders officially established the Central Indiana Life Sciences Initiative (CILSI), which would ultimately become BioCrossroads. The goal of the group—managed by the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership (CICP), with participation from the office of Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson, Indiana University, Purdue University, Eli Lilly and Company, and the Indiana Health Industry Forum — was to create an intentional, collaborative life sciences network.

Today, 20 years later, the result is a vibrant and unique life sciences community that has increased its economic impact to the state by nearly $50 billion from $32 billion in 2002 to $80 billion in 2022.

Throughout those two decades, BioCrossroads has encouraged growth within Indiana’s life sciences industry through both direct and indirect activities that have advanced Indiana’s standing as a national life sciences leader.

The organization has:

  • Directly raised over one-half of a billion dollars of market capital and philanthropic funding to identify and pursue promising new Indiana life sciences opportunities
  • Organized two life sciences venture capital funds — the Indiana Future Fund ($73 million) and the INext Fund ($58 million)
  • Organized and actively managed the Indiana Seed Fund ($6 million), Indiana Seed Fund II ($8.5 million); and currently manages Indiana Seed Fund III ($9 million). Collectively these three seed funds have invested in 32 companies
  • Formed ten enterprises to advance signature Indiana life sciences strengths, including the Indiana Health Information Exchange, the Indiana Biosciences Research Center, the 16 Tech Innovation District and OrthoWorx
  • Assisted in the attraction of thousands of jobs in life sciences companies establishing, expanding or consolidating operations in Indiana
  • Supported over 500 start-up companies and collaborations by connecting them with industry partners and capabilities, providing basic business planning guidance, and linking with additional funding sources

 

BioCrossroads has also been recognized by national organizations including the Brookings Institution and TEConomy Partners for collaborative and innovative efforts to advance and promote the Indiana’s life sciences industry.

According to authors Bruce Katz and Jeremy Nowak in The New Localism – How Cities Can Thrive in the Age of Populism, “We were particularly enamored of CICP’s BioCrossroads, an effort to steer hundreds of millions of private and civic resources towards recruiting talented researchers, building world-class centers of excellence, investing in STEM education in elementary and secondary schools, giving start-up and scale-up companies access to risk capital and developing quality places.”

“The magic combination of Indiana’s depth and breadth of life sciences resources together with BioCrossroads’ focus on catalyzing industry collaboration, creating sources of capital and establishing unique sector assets, including 16 Tech and the Indiana Biosciences Research Institute, has delivered remarkable results,” said Patty Martin, president and CEO of BioCrossroads. “What’s most impressive, though, has been and continues to be the collaboration of people from our founders to our funders to the greater life sciences community who have helped us achieve some impressive goals and have moved the sector to an enviable position.”

About BioCrossroads

BioCrossroads (www.biocrossroads.com) is Indiana’s initiative to grow, advance and invest in

the life sciences, a public-private collaboration that supports the region’s existing research and corporate strengths while encouraging new business development. BioCrossroads invests capital and provides support to life sciences businesses, launches new life sciences enterprises (Indiana Biosciences Research Institute, 16 Tech, Indiana Health Information Exchange, and OrthoWorx), expands collaboration and partnerships among Indiana’s life science institutions, promotes science education and markets Indiana’s life sciences industry.