Indiana’s life sciences sector growing in jobs, wages, companies
A new study by BioCrossroads and Indiana University shows the sector’s economic impact grew about 1 percent last year, to $79 billion.
Life Science & Biotech
Articles
Lilly to introduce generic version of insulin at half off Humalog’s list price
The move comes at a time drug makers, especially those that make insulin, are facing withering criticism for raising prices.
Roche makes $4.8 billion acquisition bid for gene-therapy company
Spark Therapeutics Inc. will give Roche Holding a chance to make up ground in a field where single treatments may command more than $1 million. It also snaps up an asset that rivals like Novartis might have coveted.
Venture firm invests $8.3M in local startup with fat-replacement product
Indianapolis-based Epogee LLC has developed a fat substitute to reduce the calories in sweets and other comfort foods. The new investment will allow the firm to scale up.
Eli Lilly negotiated its largest deal ever at breakneck speed
When the Indianapolis-based drug giant made its initial offer Dec. 20, it said it wanted to seal the deal before the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, which ran Jan. 7-10 in San Francisco.
Activist investor cuts DowDuPont expectations ahead of split into three companies
One of the three breakaway companies—ag division Corteva—has significant operations in Indianapolis. Corteva will be separately traded starting June 1.
Cook Medical ordered to pay $3M to patient hurt by blood filter
The Bloomington-based maker of medical devices said Wednesday it would appeal the verdict of a federal jury in Indianapolis, which found the device was defectively designed. More than 4,000 patients have filed lawsuits.
Drug shows promise against blood cancer
Researchers, led by Purdue chemistry professor Herman O. Sintim, are developing a series of drug compounds they say have shown promise in treating acute myeloid leukemia.
Lilly wins national award for advancing women in the workplace
The Catalyst Award recognizes companies that excel in addressing recruitment, development and advancement of women. Today, nearly half of Lilly's senior leadership is female, up from 20 percent four years ago.
In its biggest takeover ever, Lilly buying cancer drug startup for $8 billion
Connecticut-based Loxo Oncology, which was founded in 2013 and went public a year later, has a cancer drug in development that recently received U.S. Food and Drug Administration "breakthrough therapy" status.
In one of biggest pharma deals ever, Bristol-Myers Squibb to buy biotech firm for $74B
Bristol-Myers and Celgene combined will have nine products with more than $1 billion in annual sales and significant potential for growth in the core disease areas of oncology, immunology and cardiovascular disease.
After years of effort, 16 Tech innovation district finally starting construction
Developers of 16 Tech—a consortium of offices, laboratories, housing and retail space—believe the campus will become a powerful economic engine by fostering collaboration and innovation.
FDA plans overhaul of medical device approval system
The decades-old system has long been criticized by experts for failing to catch problems with risky implants and medical instruments.
Novartis nearly doubled its Endocyte bid during drawn-out courtship
The escalation in per-share price—which far exceeds that of other recent deals involving Indiana public companies—reflects the unique nature of M&A in the pharmaceutical realm.
Young entrepreneurs jump feet first into tech project
Justin Markel and Quinton Lasko are obsessed with feet and legs, technology and helping people improve their mobility. The combination led the duo to an invention designed to help athletes, although it has applications far beyond sports.
Disease-diagnostics firm plans to invest $5.3M, hire up to 31 workers
MiraVista Diagnostics, which processes more than 100,000 fungal-infection tests annually, plans to double the size of its headquarters near Indianapolis International Airport.
University researchers make discoveries count as entrepreneurs
A few influential “serial entrepreneurs” in Indiana universities feel an itch to turn their discoveries into products and companies, over and over again.
Endocyte’s $2.1B deal with Novartis comes after years of setbacks
The West Lafayette biotech firm’s stock traded as low as $1.41 last fall, following multiple setbacks and restructurings. But the stock had soared to $24 Thursday morning after news that it would be acquired by Novartis.
Novartis to acquire West Lafayette-based Endocyte for $2.1B
The deal represents a huge breakthrough for tiny Endocyte, which has about 90 employees in Indiana but has not yet launched a single product.
BioCrossroads forms $9M seed fund for life science startups
The Indiana Seed Fund III is an early-stage fund focused on developing startups in life sciences, health IT and agricultural biosciences.