Life Science & Biotech
Articles
Report: Roche mulls sale of blood-glucose monitor business
Roche Diagnostics Corp. is considering a sale of its blood-glucose meter business, a move that would cast uncertainty over the nearly 1,000 people working for its diabetes business in Indianapolis.
PINCUS: State needs better life sciences startup ecosystem
Indiana’s life sciences sector is mostly composed of legacy companies.
Mobile health apps could cut into state companies’ market share
The future of Indiana’s sprawling health care and life sciences industry might be threatened by an unlikely source: smartphone apps.
PANEL: Life sciences will see radically different future
IBJ convened a panel of experts at its Life Sciences Power Breakfast on May 10 to talk about the industry issues of venture capital, digital health innovations and research university entrepreneurship.
Panel members included Kristin Eilenberg, CEO, Lodestone Logic, Infuse Accelerator; Philip S. Low, Purdue University professor of chemistry, founder and chief science officer at Endocyte Inc. and On Target Laboratories LLC; R. Matthew Neff, president, CHV Capital Inc.; Brian Stemme, project director; BioCrossroads; Brian S. Williams, director, Global Healthcare Strategy, PricewaterhouseCoopers International Ltd.; and Raul Zaveleta, CEO, Indigo BioSystems Inc.
The following is an unedited transcript of the discussion.
New seed fund aims to make Indiana a hotbed for digital health startups
Infuse Accelerator hopes to make early-stage investments in 12 to 15 companies a year.
Lilly suing J&J for patent rights in Alzheimer’s drug race
Eli Lilly and Co. is seeking to revoke a patent held by a Johnson & Johnson unit, arguing at a London court it might delay availability of a potential treatment for Alzheimer’s disease.
Dow AgroSciences grows sales, earnings to new heights
Record sales for seeds and new crop protection products helped boost revenue 14 percent at Indianapolis-based Dow AgroSciences LLC in its new fiscal year.
Lilly seeks $30.6M in tax breaks on downtown projects
Indianapolis development officials on Wednesday will weigh the 10-year requests from the pharmaceuticals giant related to a new manufacturing plant and improvements to existing operations downtown.
IU medical school’s push to launch startups bears fruit
The Indiana University School of Medicine has launched 12 companies in the past 18 months—a burst of startup activity the school has never seen before.
Expected revenue slump spurs Lilly to cut sales force
The Indianapolis pharmaceuticals giant said Thursday that it would lay off hundreds of U.S. sales reps, as it prepares for the loss of patent protection on two of its best-selling drugs.
Lilly pulls back from proposals lowering takeover barriers
Fortunately, a Lilly takeover looks less likely today than it has in a long time—for both obvious and more subtle reasons.
City to buy key parcel for 16th Street tech corridor
The city of Indianapolis is poised to pay Citizens Energy Group $6.5 million to buy a key parcel of real estate it’s targeting as the centerpiece of its ambitious 16 Tech project.
Lilly to spend $180M doubling size of Indy plant
The new investment will bring the plant’s total price tag to $320 million as the pharmaceutical giant seeks to increase production of insulin and related products.
Sherry Labs snapped up by Netherlands corporation
The materials-testing business with nearly 300 employees has been acquired by Element Materials Technology. Sherry had been owned by a group of well-connected central Indiana businessmen.
Profits at center of biosimilars debate
House Bill 1315, which is scheduled for a Senate floor hearing on Monday, would require pharmacists to check with a patient’s physician before automatically substituting a generic version of a biotech drug for a brand-name version.
Medical device maker moving to Noblesville, adding jobs
Fishers-based Nexxt Spine LLC, a manufacturer of spinal implants, is consolidating operations and moving its headquarters and manufacturing facility to Noblesville.
Q&A
Mike Sherman, the chief financial officer at West Lafayette-based Endocyte Inc., talked about how the drug firm’s funding partnership with New Jersey-based Merck & Co. Inc. has helped accelerate development of the company’s pipeline, which is branching out into drugs to treat cancers of the lung, prostate and breast.
Lilly sues Genentech to invalidate Erbitux-related patents
Eli Lilly and Co. has sued Roche Holding AG’s Genentech unit, asking a court to invalidate patents used to make treatments for cancer and autoimmune diseases.
Dow AgroSciences wins bid to overturn pesticide guidelines
Indianapolis-based Dow Agrosciences LLC and two other pesticide makers won a bid to overturn U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service proposals to protect salmon when an appeals court found the agency’s decision “arbitrary and capricious.”