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Centerstone of Indiana, a Columbus, Ind.-based provider of mental health care, named Suzanne Koesel its new CEO as of Jan. 1. She will replace Bob Williams, who is taking the new role of chief strategy officer to focus on responding to health care reform and other changes affecting the organization. Centerstone of Indiana, which has nearly 800 employees in more than 60 facilities across 17 central southern Indiana counties, serves more than 20,000 individuals and families each year. Koesel has been Centerstone of Indiana’s chief operating officer. She holds degrees in social work from Indiana University and Washington University. Centerstone of Indiana is a subsidiary of Tennessee-based Centerstone of America.

Bloomington-based Cook Medical Inc. promoted Rob Dorocke to vice president of global e-communications. Dorocke, an Indiana University graduate, joined the Cook organization in 1997.

It’s back to reality for Bioanalytical Systems Inc. After its stock price soared 135 percent in three trading days, the stock started falling back to earth—helped in no small part by the company’s underwhelming earnings report. The West Lafayette-based firm said revenue dipped 13 percent, to $7.4 million, in its fiscal fourth quarter compared to the same period a year ago. Its loss narrowed to $300,000 in the quarter, compared to a loss of $1.4 million in the same period last year. The company sells testing equipment and services to pharmaceutical firms, which have been retrenching the past two years. “The revenue decline in fiscal 2010 stems mainly from study delays, price declines and spending reductions by our customers as part of their overall cost-savings initiatives,” Bioanalytical officials noted in a statement. But the company’s business accelerated in the second half of its fiscal year, causing CEO Anthony Chilton to give an upbeat outlook for 2011.

Eli Lilly and Co. and Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. have asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to approve their diabetes medicine Byetta for use in combination with basal insulin, which diabetics take in between meals to control their blood sugar. The companies would like to reignite Byetta sales, which have slumped since 2008, when the FDA publicized cases of pancreatitis among patients taking the drug. Indianapolis-based Lilly and San Diego-based Amylin tried to win approval this year for a once-weekly version of Byetta, called Bydureon, but the FDA asked for more tests, delaying the drug’s approval until 2012.

BioCrossroads’ Indiana Seed Fund invested $250,000 in Indianapolis-based Aarden Pharmaceuticals. Aarden’s leading drug program focuses on tuberculosis. The company’s product is based on research by Zhong-Zin Zhang, a professor and chairman of biochemistry and molecular biology at the Indiana University School of Medicine. Zhang is an expert in protein tyrosine phosphates, a group of signaling enzymes that regulate cellular processes. His research was funded through Lilly Endowment’s Indiana Genomics Initiative. The company decided last year to establish its headquarters here, selecting Indianapolis over San Diego.

Clarian Health physicians will now provide cardiac services to patients at Columbus Regional Hospital facilities under a new affiliation. The agreement ensures Columbus Regional has full-time availability of heart surgeons, in additional to the interventional cardiology care provided by Indiana Heart Physicians-Columbus. Columbus Regional has offered 24-7 heart surgery since 2002. In 2011, Clarian will change its name to Indiana University Health.

CNO Financial Group Inc. got a financial strength upgrade from A.M. Best Co., the pre-eminent rating agency for insurance companies. New Jersey-based Best boosted its grade on Carmel-based CNO from B (fair) to B+ (good), crediting CNO with focusing more on business lines where it has a clear competitive advantage and its recent financial restructurings. CNO, which was formerly called Conseco, sells life and health policies to middle-income families.

Warsaw-based Zimmer Holdings Inc. acquired Sodem Diffusion S.A., a Switzerland-based maker of orthopedic surgical power tools. The company will be merged into Zimmer Surgical, a unit based in Dover, Ohio. Zimmer has been trying to diversify its business as sales of its hip and knee implants have stagnated in western markets.

An armed man matching the description of a serial robber has hit a Fishers gas station yet again. Fishers Police were called to the Circle K at 96th Street and Allisonville Road around 4:30 a.m. Thursday on a report of an armed robbery. The clerk told police a masked man dressed head to toe in black showed a gun and demanded money. The robber got away with an unknown amount of cash and fled on foot. He was last seen running toward the Cedar Cove Apartments. Officers from four other departments helped set up a perimeter in the area, but only found the suspect's mask.

A south-side diner owner fought back when two would-be robbers demanded money early Thursday. The owner of E.J.'s Diner, 3301 Shelby St., told police that two men entered his business about 5 a.m. and ordered him to hand over cash. At some point, one of the robbers implied he had a gun. That's when the owner reached under his counter, pulled out his own handgun and fired one shot at the pair. One of the suspects was hit in the right shoulder. Police searched the area, but did not locate the would-be robbers. Investigators also are looking for gunshot wound victims at local hospitals.