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Clarian plans training center: Doctors, nurses to sharpen skills in $44 million building

A team led by Clarian Health Partners will add a $44 million training center to the cluster of life sciences businesses taking root around the Central Canal on the northern edge of downtown. The Indianapolis hospital network recently filed plans with the city to build a six-story, 182,750-square-foot building on the eastern side of the canal. The site sits just south of a pathology laboratory on 11th Street that Clarian plans to dedicate later this month. The Indiana University schools…

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Turned away, twice: Hot biotech inventor scores coastal cash after local VCs say no

When a proven Indiana life scientist invents a promising medical technology, you’d expect local venture capitalists would snap to attention. So when Lafayette-based Ash Access Technology Inc. announced March 14 it had landed $6 million in venture capital, it was surprising to note the names of the investors in the deal. None were based inside state lines. But Dr. Stephen Ash wasn’t shocked. After all, he’s been through this before. “I don’t know what happened,” Ash said. “I was disappointed….

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TechPoint names up-and-coming Mira nominees: Annual award celebrates excellence in innovation

TechPoint won’t distribute its annual Mira awards until its banquet at the Indiana Roof Ballroom May 19. But the state’s largest high-tech trade association has completed the nomination process for its top awards, pulling together a list of 49 innovative companies and educators in such categories as information technology, life sciences and advanced manufacturing. About 750 people usually attend the Mira banquet. But the awards are meant to reverberate among a far wider population all year long as confirmation which…

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Federal patent legislation could mean major changes: Proposed reform act could cut down on ‘trolling’ and litigation by switching approvals to a first-to-file system

Pending federal legislation could bring sweeping changes to a patent system critics say is broken and in need of repair. The Patent Reform Act-before Congress since last year-presents the most substantial overhaul in decades. Significant changes include creating a process to challenge patents after they are granted and awarding a patent to the first person to submit paperwork. Patents currently are granted to the first person who hatched the invention, regardless of when documents were filed. Time frames, though, can…

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Hospitality madness: City wants to grow reputation as Final Four’s ideal site

Bill Evans’ phone rang at 11 p.m. It was a basketball team. The players wanted milkshakes. He popped up like he was bouncing on one of those mini-trampolines mascots use to dunk basketballs at halftime. He tapped his partner on the shoulder. They rolled two coolers to the downtown Steak n Shake. He ordered milkshakes. Large ones. Two for each player. They put the shakes in the coolers and rolled them through the downtown night to the team hotel. The…

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You can take it to the bank: Financial experts say state’s economy is rising, merger mania isn’t over and regulatory laws could take a toll

On Feb. 24, IBJ Publisher Chris Katterjohn, Managing Editor Greg Andrews and banking reporter Matt Kish sat down with four leaders from Indianapolis’ banking and finance sector: Judith Ripley, director of the Indiana Department of Financial Institutions; Kit Stolen, CEO of Union Federal Bank of Indianapolis; Steve Beck, president and CEO of the Indiana Venture Center; and Keith Slifer, senior vice president of LaSalle Bank. Among the topics of conversation: How’s the state’s economy doing? Are more bank mergers on…

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BRIAN WILLIAMS Commentary: Indiana’s life sciences future starts today

Indiana’s life sciences future starts today In 2004, BioCrossroads was awarded a comprehensive grant by the Lumina Foundation for Education to study Indiana’s life sciences K-12 education standing. One of the goals of the study was to find ways to improve student performance in science, math and technology in Indiana at the K-12 level. This study rightly identified an area where meaningful results can be achieved through concerted effort. More important, individuals at Marian College, who recognize the impact of…

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Indiana’s universities give industry a boost: State touts wealth of higher-ed insurance programs

Politicians seem so much more 21st century when they talk about attracting life sciences and information technology jobs to Indiana. But they’re not about to ignore the state’s second-largest employer-the often-overlooked insurance industry. Indiana insurers employ more than 60,000 Hoosiers, second only to farming, and pay an average annual salary of $47,500, nearly $10,000 more than the state average, according to a 2004 study by Purdue University. Moreover, the industry boasts some of the state’s largest public and private companies-WellPoint…

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Startup receives first Indiana Seed Fund investment: Purdue-bred SonarMed plans move to Indianapolis

Until recently, SonarMed Inc., a startup developing a new type of breathing tube, was just a mailbox at Purdue University. But having recently been awarded the first investment from the BioCrossroads’ Indiana Seed Fund, SonarMed plans to move into office space in Indianapolis, hire 15 to 20 employees before the end of the year and begin seeking U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for its device. The Indiana Seed Fund was formed last summer and now has $6 million to…

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Emerging India: Opportunity or threat?: Indiana businesses brace for growing global competition

Opportunity or threat? Indiana businesses brace for growing global competition Next month, President Bush will make his first official visit to India. To most of the American media, it’ll be just one more round of global terrorism discussions with a distant foreign nation, perhaps worthy of a brief. The Indian press knows better. Six weeks ahead of Bush’s trip, banner headlines about it ran in every newspaper. Al Hubbard knows better, too. Friends with Bush since their days at Harvard…

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Emerging India: Passage to Bangalore: Hoosiers seek outsourcing and investment opportunities

Passage to Bangalore Hoosiers seek outsourcing and investment opportunities BANGALORE, India-The deal was falling apart. Despite a week of flirtation and friendly negotiations, the two young Indian entrepreneurs rejected the offer from the group of Hoosier investors. Frustrated, the investors walked out of the hotel conference room. The chance to speculate on an Indian software startup called Picsquare.comhad fizzled. But none of the six Indiana business leaders was demoralized. After all, they’d crossed the globe to pursue business opportunities in…

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New FBI facility: tough case to crack: Government struggling to find site to build field office for bureau

The highly-sought-after job of developing a new building for the FBI’s Indianapolis field office is still in play, but it’s hampered by the federal government’s inability to find a site for the building. A bevy of local and national developers are expected to throw their hats in the ring to develop the building, which the Government Services Agency says needs to be 110,000 square feet. For the winner, it would be a high-profile project and one of the more significant…

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IPOs take minor dip in 2005: Analysts stay optimistic; 3 Indiana companies set to go public in early ’06

Three Indiana companies took the plunge to go public last year, two less than the number that did so in 2004. The state’s slight dip in initial public offerings mirrors the slump in activity nationally. But Indiana appears to be off to a fast start for 2006. Three other Hoosier companies filed to go public late last year, but had yet to complete their IPOs by year’s end. Overall, the number of companies that went public on the major U.S….

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Busy year, but no record: A Wellpoint deal leads list for second year in row, but 2005 lacks blockbuster

For the second year in a row, a giant Wellpoint deal led the pack. As much money was involved in Wellpoint’s $6.7 billion acquisition of WellChoice Inc. as in the rest of the list combined. It was a huge deal by most any company’s standard-except Wellpoint’s. The year before, Wellpoint’s $22.7 billion merger with Anthem Inc. led all deals and then some. Thanks to that single mega-deal, 2004’s $31 billion list total shattered all previous local merger and acquisition records….

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Busy year, but no record: A Wellpoint deal leads list for second year in row, but 2005 lacks blockbuster

For the second year in a row, a giant Wellpoint deal led the pack. As much money was involved in Wellpoint’s $6.7 billion acquisition of WellChoice Inc. as in the rest of the list combined. It was a huge deal by most any company’s standard-except Wellpoint’s. The year before, Wellpoint’s $22.7 billion merger with Anthem Inc. led all deals and then some. Thanks to that single mega-deal, 2004’s $31 billion list total shattered all previous local merger and acquisition records….

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IPOs take minor dip in 2005: Analysts stay optimistic; 3 Indiana companies set to go public in early ’06

Three Indiana companies took the plunge to go public last year, two less than the number that did so in 2004. The state’s slight dip in initial public offerings mirrors the slump in activity nationally. But Indiana appears to be off to a fast start for 2006. Three other Hoosier companies filed to go public late last year, but had yet to complete their IPOs by year’s end. Overall, the number of companies that went public on the major U.S….

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From FFA to DNA: Businesses view convention as more than a gathering of corn growers

Don’t call it the Future Farmers of America. That went out of style with pastel suits and parachute pants. The organization is now known as the FFA. And it’s no longer just a gathering of crop jockeys. The change in moniker partly illustrates why business leaders are so excited for the first of at least seven annual conventions the organization will stage in the Circle City starting in late October. “FFA is a premier, if not the premier, youth organization…

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Education, work force key hurdles to new economy:

Having recently returned to Indiana after a 15-year absence, I see a region filled with both challenges and opportunities. The Central Indiana Corporate Partnership, the organization I’ve returned to serve as president and CEO, is focused on long-term economic prosperity for our region. To this end, our people are our most valuable resource. Unfortunately, central Indiana faces a significant challenge in making our human capital match our goal of a knowledgebased, 21st-century economy. Indiana ranks 46th in the educational attainment…

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In the new year, building on the successes of 2005:

This past year was one of the most active and successful in our city’s history. We pushed through legislation to fund an expansion of the Indiana Convention Center and build a new multi-purpose stadium, both of which will be tremendous boons to our region’s economy, pumping in more than $2.25 billion in investment and creating more than 4,200 permanent jobs over the next 10 years. In addition, through the leadership of the governor and legislature, a one-of-a-kind regional funding solution…

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VIEWPOINT: Indiana: The Cyber Crossroads of America?

Can a state whose identity as the “Crossroads of America” in the 20th century maintain that distinction in the 21st century? Can Indiana, with numerous railroads and highways passing through it, find a competitive advantage in a world that increasingly bypasses rails and roads in favor of the virtual marketplace? Absolutely-if it is willing once again to serve as a central hub for the thoroughfares so important to the virtual marketplace and purposefully sets out to build them. Not so…

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