INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., Nov. 12, 2015 —In a report released today by BioCrossroads, the Indiana Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) is recognized as a leading participant and preeminent site in the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Clinical and Translational Science Award program (CTSA). The study, The Clinical and Translational Science Award Program – A Report on Indiana’s Position, conducted by Faegre BD Consulting, details the CTSA program’s history and broad expectations for success moving forward and also compares the Indiana CTSI with five other award sites in the U.S. who are regarded as having cutting-edge programs.

Launched in 2006 by the NIH, the CTSA award program was designed to provide a more efficient and effective way to translate basic science into therapies and help to bridge the gap between growing taxpayer investments and the relatively limited number of therapies being approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Today, the program includes 62 academic medical institutions nationwide, including the Indiana CTSI led by the Indiana University School of Medicine in a partnership with Purdue University and University of Notre Dame. A statewide consortium, the Indiana CTSI’s mission is to accelerate the translation of basic, applied and clinical research discoveries into best practices and solutions to our most pressing health problems.

According to the study, the Indiana CTSI is a uniquely positioned program.

“With close to 150 medical schools nationwide, the Indiana University School of Medicine is distinguished by having one of only 62 NIH-funded CTSA award winning sites,” said David L. Johnson, President and CEO of BioCrossroads and the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership. “Because it is the only such NIH-award winner in the state, the Indiana CTSI has a unique opportunity to leverage our highly connected regional life sciences environment – both with other academic partners and industry —  to exploit opportunities that are extremely difficult to achieve in other locations around the country.”

Since inception in 2008, the Indiana CTSI has been able to harness the strengths of Indiana University, Purdue University and University of Notre Dame to not only advance clinical discovery but also overcome many obstacles and barriers that are typically associated with making university collaborations truly accessible to both community and industry partners.

“In this exercise to study the progress of the CTSA program, we discovered that the Indiana CTSI does not just excel against peer institutions that are similar in size but is positioned to be as effective and instrumental as other academic institutions that generate substantially larger research dollars,” added Johnson. “We are able to achieve such early and sustainable success because Indiana has a remarkable history of collaboration among its academic and corporate life sciences assets.”

The report indicates that continued success and progress of the Indiana CTSI, along with the strengths of the Indiana Biosciences Research Institute and 16 Tech Innovation District, will well-position the state as a leading cluster for healthcare innovation.

The report is available at www.biointellex.com

 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 The Indiana Biosciences Research Institute, Indiana Health Information Exchange, BioCrossroadsLINX, OrthoWorx, and Datalys Center.