INDIANAPOLIS (April 12, 2021) —   In 2020, Indiana’s life sciences companies accessed over $9 billion in capital to grow and support innovation. The funding comes from a variety of sources including Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) awards, venture capital, initial public offerings and related public offerings, and mergers and acquisitions. BioCrossroads today issued their annual report, Indiana Life Sciences Capital 2020, which provides details on the funding events throughout the year.

The $9 billion includes:

  • $12.6 million SBIR awarded to 21 companies.
  • $262 million in venture capital invested in 44 companies.
  • $141.8 million accessed through public markets by three companies.
  • $8.6 billion+ spent to acquire innovation, representing nine transactions.

The market capitalization for Indiana’s public life sciences companies as of Dec. 31, 2020 was $297.6 billion and includes Eli Lilly and Company, Anthem, Zimmer Biomet, Elanco, Acacia Pharma, Brickell Biotech, Orthopediatrics, Acura Pharmaceuticals, Assembly Biosciences, Hill-Rom Holdings, Nanosonic and Bioanalytical Systems. In all, these 12 companies achieved a 17 percent gain in value over 2019.

“Indiana’s deep and diverse life sciences research and industrial bases are important drivers for Indiana’s overall economic health,” said Patty Martin, President and CEO of BioCrossroads. “The continuing vitality of this sector depends on innovation from diverse research settings — universities, nonprofit research institutes, and industry – which, in turn, are highly dependent on these sources of funding.”

Even excluding the significant funding represented by mergers and acquisitions, Indiana’s life sciences companies raised over $400 million in capital in 2020. This funding supports the discovery and development of therapies and devices, adding to the state’s life sciences entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem.

“Indiana’s life sciences start-ups had their best year ever for raising venture capital – and eight of these companies raised over $5 million,” said Aaron Gillum, senior vice president of 50 South Capital. “We continue to see our innovations getting attention from the capital markets and investors from across the country.”

The report can be downloaded from the BioCrossroads website or HERE.

About BioCrossroads

BioCrossroads (www.biocrossroads.com) is Indiana’s initiative to grow the life sciences, a public-private collaboration that supports the region’s research and corporate strengths while encouraging new business development.   BioCrossroads provides money and support to life sciences businesses, launches new life sciences enterprises, expands collaboration and partnerships among Indiana’s life science institutions, expands science education and markets Indiana’s life sciences industry.  The initiative has formed several new nonprofit organizations, including Indiana Health Information Exchange, BioCrossroadsLINX, OrthoWorx, Datalys Center and the Indiana Biosciences Research Institute.