New BIO/Battelle report highlights depth and breadth of state’s sector

Indianapolis, June 24, 2014 –  Nearly 58,000 Hoosiers work in the life sciences industry, making Indiana one of the top ten states for the number of life sciences employees, according to a Battelle/Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) Report “State Biosciences Jobs, Investments and Innovation 2014” released today at the BIO International Conference in San Diego.  The State also stands out in employment concentration, ranking fifth in the U.S.  In addition, Indianapolis/Carmel is the only metropolitan area in the U.S. with a specialized employment concentration in all five biosciences subsectors that are measured.

The report measures growth in the bioscience sector from 2007-2012 and includes several indicators for success, including the numbers of employees and companies, average wages, research and development dollars and patents.

In the past five years, employment has increased in the agricultural and medical device areas; and the research, testing and medical labs subsector had double-digit growth, up 12 percent over the last five years. The drugs and pharmaceutical subsector saw a loss of 2,500 employees.  However, a significant portion of this decrease was due to reclassification of employees from this subsector to other subsectors based on increased outsourcing and employee “re-badging” to strategic partners by Indiana companies.

“Given the dynamic nature of the life sciences industry, Indiana has stayed strong in critical areas like employment, production, and economic impact,” said David L. Johnson, president and CEO of BioCrossroads, an organization dedicated to advancing Indiana’s signature life sciences strengths.  “This $55 billion industry with nearly $10 billion in exports is celebrated by impressive depth and breadth across all five subsectors.  We will continue to capitalize on our strengths and find opportunities to grow other areas.”

The number of companies dropped slightly from 2007 to 2012, due to a decreased number of biologistics companies, although company formation was up significantly in the agricultural (35.3%), medical device (27%) and research, testing and medical lab (33.8%) areas.

The report also shows an opportunity for Indiana to increase academic bioscience research expenditures and to attract more National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding, as numbers in those areas are in the middle and low middle range nationally.

An effort to combat the lower research funding, the new industry-led Indiana Biosciences Research Institute (IBRI), was established in 2013 to catalyze relationships between Indiana’s research institutions and the diverse cross-section of life sciences companies in order to garner more federal research dollars and industry-sponsored relationships.  IBRI is featured in the report as a state innovation initiative which is supporting industry growth.

In addition to the statewide information, several Indiana cities were highlighted for their employment concentration in the life sciences:

 

  • Bloomington metropolitan statistical area (MSA) – Bloomington continues its reign as the number1 small MSA (total private employment less than 75,000) in the Medical Devices and Equipment category.  The area moved up five positions and is now 5th in Drugs and Pharmaceuticals employment for a small MSA and is 9th in the subsector of Bioscience-Related Distribution. Overall, Bloomington has an employment specialization in three of the five subsectors.
  • Evansville MSA – The Evansville area made its debut as 10th in the medium MSAs (total private employment between 75,000 and 250,000) for Agricultural Feedstock and Chemicals and 12th in Drugs and Pharmaceuticals.
  • Indianapolis MSA – Indianapolis is 6th in Agricultural Feedstock and Chemicals; 2nd in Drugs and Pharmaceuticals; 10th in Medical Devices and Equipment; and 10th in Bioscience-Related Distribution
  • Lafayette MSA – The Lafayette MSA has four subsectors represented by a specialized employment concentration.  It moved up to 4th from its 2010 ranking of 13th in the Agricultural Feedstock and Chemicals subsector for small MSAs.  In the Drugs and Pharmaceuticals category, Lafayette ranks12th and in Research, Testing and Medical Laboratories it is 11th.
  • Michigan City/La Porte MSA – In the Medical Devices and Equipment subsector, the area ranks13th in employment concentration.
  • South Bend/Mishawaka MSA – South Bend/Mishawaka is another Indiana area with specialized employment concentration in four subsectors.  It is number 14 on the list of Research, Testing, and Medical Laboratories employment concentration in medium MSAs.
  • Terre Haute MSA – In the Drugs and Pharmaceuticals subsector, Terre Haute ranks 11th for small MSAs.

Indiana is home to the global headquarters for Biomet, Cook Medical, DePuy Orthopaedics, Dow AgroSciences, Eli Lilly and Company, WellPoint, and Zimmer and the North American headquarters of Roche Diagnostics; Beckman Coulter, Boston Scientific, Covance, Express Scripts, Mead Johnson, and Medtronic have major operations located within the state.

According to the report, nationally, life sciences employment and its economic output has remained strong over the last 11 years.   The industry has a workforce of more than 1.6 million people and has grown 17 percent in the last five years, almost twice the national private sector rate.

The full Report is available on the BIO Website www.bio.org.

About BioCrossroads

BioCrossroads (www.biocrossroads.com) advances Indiana’s signature strengths in the life sciences by connecting with corporate, academic and philanthropic partners; facilitating investments in promising start ups and building new enterprises; and educating through conferences, reports and market development knowledge.   The initiative supports the region’s existing research and corporate strengths while encouraging new business development and has formed several new nonprofit organizations, including Indiana Health Information Exchange, BioCrossroadsLINX, OrthoWorx, and Datalys Center.