AUG. 18-24, 2023
A decade ago, Eli Lilly and Co. struggled to release new drugs and maintain investor interest. Today, the company is literally worth more than all of the gold in Fort Knox as its stock price continually posts new highs and analysts praise its pipeline of drugs. John Russell explores what this means for the company and Indianapolis. Also in this week’s issue, John Russell reports that one of the top researchers at Indiana University School of Medicine has been recruited away from the institution and taken more than two dozen faculty, postdoctoral associates and IU staffers with him. And Susan Orr highlights the fight against fake online consumer reviews and how the Federal Trade Commission wants to get involved.
Front PageBack to Top
Former top IU med school researcher says why he left
The IU School of Medicine scored a major coup five years ago when it recruited one of the nation’s top experts in the fast-growing field of regenerative medicine. But the University of Pittsburgh recruited him away this spring.
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Lilly stock skyrockets, raising profile of city’s life sciences sector
The pharmaceutical company has launched 20 drugs in the past decade to treat diseases from arthritis and psoriasis to diabetes and cancer. In recent months, Lilly has overtaken every competitor to become the most valuable drugmaker in the world.
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Feds want more teeth to fight fake online reviews
The Federal Trade Commission has proposed a rule that would give it authority to fine businesses that write, buy or sell fake reviews, provide compensation for positive or negative reviews, or sell fake social media followers.
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Software developers say AI technology helps them work faster—sometimes
Local tech firms that have started to use the technology say, with the caveat that it’s difficult to make long-term predictions about ever-changing technology, that they view generative AI as a tool rather than a job killer.
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Derek Schultz: The card king
Even on nonpromotion days, the past and present always intertwine at Indy Card Exchange, where generations of patrons consistently step through Albert’s door to pore over decades of collectible treasures—from MJ, to Mantle, to Mahomes.
Read MoreMade in Indiana: Chocolate by DeBrand Fine Chocolates
History: DeBrand Fine Chocolates founder Cathy Brand-Beere grew up in a family deeply involved in confectionery arts. She began working with chocolate when she was 8. “I always loved the creative process of making fine chocolates and dreamt of opening a ‘real chocolate shop’ when I grew up,” she wrote on the company’s website. In […]
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After building sale, 500 Festival planning to leave downtown HQ for North Mass corridor
The not-for-profit group that organizes events celebrating the Indy 500 sold its headquarters building in November, in part to tighten its focus on operations and away from property management.
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Holcomb taps David Rosenberg to lead state’s economic development agency
David Rosenberg, chief operating officer of the Indiana Economic Development Corp., replaces Brad Chambers as Indiana secretary of commerce.
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Zagzebski latest exec to take helm at utility AES Indiana
Ken Zagzebski, a senior vice president at AES Corp., will be making a return engagement to the top spot at the Indianapolis utility formerly known as Indianapolis Power & Light.
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In Indiana, Mike Pence rebukes Trump, announces plan to ‘restore’ federalism
Speaking in downtown Indianapolis at the National Conference of State Legislatures’ Legislative Summit, the country’s largest annual gathering of state lawmakers, the former Indiana governor outlined a five-point plan.
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Indy Job Corps expands presence, career opportunities
The center is now searching for more low-income young people to
take advantage of free training as office administrators, certified nursing assistants and, within the next year, manufacturing trades workers.
OpinionBack to Top
Editorial: Marian University boosts state with wise approach to growth
With the opening of its new engineering school building, Marian University is once again showing why it is often considered among the most innovative colleges in the Midwest.
Read MoreMickey Maurer: GOP candidates sink to new levels of low
The political scene in Indiana has sunk to a new level—standup comedy.
Read MoreSheila Suess Kennedy: What family planning has meant to women’s liberation
Before the advent of reliable birth control, every sexual encounter carried the risk of pregnancy, and pregnancy generally meant the end of a woman’s economic independence.
Read MoreDan Peterson: New opportunities for a healthier Indiana are in front of us
Legislators have unleashed significant resources to enhance mental and community health services in our 92 counties. These moves will help doctors address health challenges faced by their patients before it’s too late.
Read MoreMandy Haskett: As AI proliferates, machines need soft skills, too
In eight years’ time, it’s predicted, the smartest thing on the planet will be a machine—something not human-made at all, but an autonomous form that has developed itself.
Read MoreMickey Kim and Roger Lee: Fitch downgrade a warning U.S. approaching a reckoning
Fitch warned on May 24 its AAA rating for the United States was at risk as the June 1 “X-Date” on which the country would default rapidly approached.
Read MoreCecil Bohanon and John Horowitz: Partisan bickering undermines U.S. fiscal integrity
The top-line story is that the Fitch downgrade emerged from its perception that there “has been a steady deterioration in standards of governance over the last 20 years, including on fiscal and debt matters” in the United States.
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Indiana GOP endorses Jim Banks’ U.S. Senate run
The endorsement allows the Republican National Committee to send money and resources to support Banks’ run for U.S. Senate in 2024.
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Plainfield taking plunge with $8.4M expansion of Splash Island
Town officials want to add three water slides, a splash pad and rental cabanas to the water park in time for its opening next spring.
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Indiana Local News Initiative hires Oseye Boyd for editor’s role
Ball State University alum Oseye Boyd will exit her role at The Indianapolis Star to lead the not-for-profit media startup’s newsroom.
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Newspapers in Columbus, 3 other regional cities to reduce print publication days
Aim Media Indiana’s newspapers in Columbus, Greenfield, Franklin and Seymour plan to reduce the number of print publication days starting next month.
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Indy airport sees return of Salt Lake City nonstop route, upgraded San Fran service
The Salt Lake City route, which was discontinued in February 2022 by Delta Air Lines, will start back up early next year.
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