Building on years of significant investment from big pharmaceutical companies, Indiana is moving forward with a multibillion-dollar initiative of its own to establish the state as a leading hub for life sciences innovation, including health sciences.
Indiana Governor Mike Brown announced in a recent press release that the state’s $1 billion initiative will focus on creating new jobs and higher wages, with a goal of creating 100,000 “good-wage” jobs over the next 10 years.
“Indiana is a leader in life sciences, and we are now investing to accelerate that growth with the goal of creating 100,000 new high-wage jobs over the next 10 years,” Brown said.
The governor said the investment would come in the form of tax credits and be tied to “measurable outcomes” to promote accountability and long-term return on investment, according to local reports. The plan, Brown said, is to make Indiana a “relocating and expanding center and premier destination for human care, animal health, agritech, biotech and environmental innovation.”
Apart from strengthening life sciences, the state’s spending also focuses on developing the state’s agricultural science industry.
Last year, Brown issued an order requiring various regions in the state to create formal growth plans for jobs and economic development. The Central Indiana region ultimately identified the life sciences sector as a “core growth engine” in its regional plan, according to the announcement. As such, the Central Indiana Regional Development Authority (CIRDA) has been appointed as the “regional administrator” to coordinate and execute the $1 billion growth plan.
“Our job now is to align by bringing industry, universities, and communities together under a unified strategy that accelerates growth,” Scott Fadones, CIRDA chairman and mayor of Fishers, Indiana, said in the governor’s announcement.
Eli Lilly, Roche, Novartis, and other leading companies in agriculture, animal health, and medical technology were specifically mentioned as “anchors” of the initiative.
Lilly, for example, has poured billions of dollars into its Indiana operations since it began operations in the state capital in 1876. Much of the company’s $50 billion in manufacturing investments since 2020 has gone toward expanding its plants in Indiana, including a $9 billion drug substance facility in Lebanon and a $4.5 billion R&D and manufacturing facility in the city called Lilly Medicine Foundry.
“When Col. Eli Lilly founded our company here 150 years ago, he set out to develop medicines that would revolutionize human health,” Lilly CEO David Ricks said in a release. “Today, Indiana is home to a significant life sciences community, and we are proud to help the state grow that community by creating jobs, driving innovation, and improving the lives of Hoosiers and people around the world.”
Meanwhile, Roche is spending $550 million on a new diagnostic facility in Indianapolis that will become the “key hub” for the company’s continuous glucose monitoring system. And the company recently signaled further expansion across Indiana through a massive $50 billion investment in the United States.
Novartis also operates a manufacturing site for radioligand therapeutics in the state, which is “strategically located at a crossroads in America,” a spokesperson said at a ribbon-cutting ceremony in 2024.
