Press Release
Contact:
Lori LeRoy
BioCrossroads
317- 238-2456 (office) 317- 514-0095 (cell)
lleroy@biocrossroads.com
Two-year $2.8 million grant from Lilly Endowment fuels BioCrossroads’ charitable, educational and scientific mission
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., October 5, 2011 — BioCrossroads today announced
the receipt of a two-year $2.8 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. The
grant will fund a range of charitable, educational and scientific activities through
2013 as BioCrossroads continues to build upon Indiana’s signature strengths in
the life sciences.
“As BioCrossroads approaches our 10-year anniversary in early 2012, we
recognize that Lilly Endowment’s significant investment in our initiative has been
a game-changer for the success of Indiana’s life sciences sector and, therefore, for
our entire community,” said D. Craig Brater, MD, chairman of the board of
BioCrossroads. “As detailed in a recent Battelle report on the progress of
Indiana’s life sciences cluster, Indiana has seen a decade of substantial growth
and tremendous progress across a wide range of nationally significant indicators.
This is in large part due to the efforts of BioCrossroads and the major support of
its founding stakeholders, especially Lilly Endowment.”
Indiana’s life sciences sector has received national recognition as a life sciences
center. In June 2009, The Economist said, “Though every state wants to be a hub
in the life sciences, Indiana actually is one…” More recently, an August Wall
Street Journal article called Indianapolis a hotbed of activity for the life sciences,
citing the state’s 825 life sciences companies and 8,800 new jobs.
Grants from Lilly Endowment for the BioCrossroads initiative (now totaling more
than $25 million) go to the CICP Foundation, which also supports other eligible
charitable, educational and scientific initiatives and activities of the Central
Indiana Corporate Partnership. Since its inception, BioCrossroads has focused
on projects that work with existing assets and connect them to the community in
new ways, leading to the creation of eight collaborative enterprises, such as the
Indiana Health Information Exchange, OrthoWorx and the Datalys Center for
Sports Injury Research and Prevention.
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Also, BioCrossroads has produced four leading Indiana life sciences reports since
2008 covering biopharmaceutical development, health information technology,
orthopedics and Indiana’s overall life sciences industry. These reports have
helped elevate the regional and national visibility of each of these sectors as
centers of innovation and excellence.
In a related development, Lilly Endowment also awarded a two-year $1.6 million
grant to the CICP Foundation for the operations and expansion of the
I-STEM Resource Network. Launched and sponsored by BioCrossroads, the
network is a statewide consortium of higher education institutions managed by
Purdue University which draws upon the efforts of 17 other universities, colleges
and other institutions of higher learning around Indiana. The I-STEM initiative
represents a unique and shared mission by these stakeholders to provide
professional development for K-12 teachers that should result in measurable
improvement in student achievement in the STEM disciplines. Such
achievement is vital in preparing Indiana’s next generation for some of the state’s
best opportunities in top fields, such as the life sciences, that draw heavily upon
skills in mathematics and science.
“Lilly Endowment is pleased to support BioCrossroads’ growing impact on the
development of Indiana’s nationally significant life sciences cluster,” said N. Clay
Robbins, Endowment president. “One of the Endowment’s objectives is to help
foster rewarding economic opportunities for Indiana residents. The flourishing of
the state’s life sciences cluster should result in the creation of many more such
opportunities, which in turn should benefit residents and strengthen
communities throughout Indiana.
About Lilly Endowment Inc.
The Endowment was founded in 1937 by three members of the Lilly family through gifts
of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. While those gifts
remain the financial bedrock of the Endowment, the Endowment is a separate entity
from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff and location. In keeping with
the wishes of the founders, the Endowment supports the causes of community
development, education and religion. The Lilly family’s foremost priority was to help the
people of their city and state build a better life, and the Endowment remains primarily
committed to Indianapolis and Indiana.
About BioCrossroads
BioCrossroads (www.biocrossroads.com) is Indiana’s initiative to grow, advance and
invest in the life sciences, a public-private collaboration that supports the region’s
existing research and corporate strengths while encouraging new business development.
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BioCrossroads provides money and support to life sciences businesses, launches new life
sciences enterprises (Indiana Health Information Exchange, Fairbanks Institute for
Healthy Communities, BioCrossroadsLINX, and Datalys Center), expands collaboration
and partnerships among Indiana’s life science institutions, promotes science education
and markets Indiana’s life sciences industry.
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