Key leaders from Indiana's life sciences and innovation hubs helped shine a spotlight on the importance of collaboration and collective focus in driving innovation and growth.

Bob Vitoux, president and chief executive officer of OrthoWorx – which works to advance the thriving orthopedic industry in Warsaw – shared a revealing story last week during our May FrameWORX at 16 Tech.

Plug and Play, a leading global innovation platform that connects startups with corporations, governments, and organizations to drive innovation and create mutually beneficial partnerships, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new MedTech office in Warsaw – supporting a community that already is the Orthopedic Capital of the World. Among the dignitaries in attendance was Gov. Eric Holcomb. He told the audience: “Indiana used to be a flyover state. Now, fly over at your own peril.”

Wise words – relevant not only to the growth we’re seeing in Warsaw but across Indiana.

The life sciences are seeing significant traction across the U.S. and Indiana is right in the mix. Life sciences organizations here secured $5.5 billion in capital and investments last year while making a $95 billion contribution to the state’s economy. And key stakeholders, who are playing a crucial role in that growth, joined our May FrameWORX, sharing insights into one of Indiana’s real strengths: our life sciences hubs and collaboration across the Hoosier State.

The hubs were represented by Warsaw, West Lafayette, and Bloomington. Warsaw is a real success story that should make all Hoosiers proud with world-leading orthopedic manufacturers sprinkled across a beautiful community in northeast Indiana. Bloomington and West Lafayette are leveraging unique opportunities with leading universities in their backyards. Indiana University secured $772 million in sponsored research awards in 2023 and is investing $250 million in biosciences – including a $60 million investment into expanded new lab and research space.

In West Lafayette, meanwhile, Purdue has the No. 1 nuclear pharmacy program in the nation and received a record-breaking $613 million in research funding in fiscal year 2023. Lafayette is also third in the U.S. among medium-sized metropolitan areas for drug and pharma employment.

Collectively, our life sciences clusters are advancing Indiana’s workforce, economy, and innovation that help people with needs everywhere. We’ll take another look at our sector on June 20 through the lens of advanced manufacturing and how Indiana is filling important gaps. And we’re taking our show on the road to the Fishers Life Sciences and Innovation District where we’ll visit INCOG BioPharma Services, a state-of-the-art contract development manufacturing organization.

Join us on June 20 for FrameWORX - From Development to Delivery: Our Edge in Life Sciences Manufacturing

Register here