INDIANAPOLIS (June 9, 2020) – Seven Indiana cities are recognized for their national life science strengths, according to Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) and TEConomy Partners’ biennial survey of the U.S. life sciences industry released today. Bloomington, Evansville, Indianapolis, Lafayette, Michigan City, South Bend and Terre Haute are identified in the report as having significant life sciences activity. Lafayette is one of only seven cities in the U.S to have employment specializations in four of the five industry subsectors. Bloomington and Indianapolis have employment specializations in three of the five industry subsectors (two of only 23 cities in the U.S. with that distinction).

The report, The Bioscience Economy: Propelling Life-Saving Treatments, Supporting State & Local Communities, measures growth in the bioscience sector (Agricultural Feedstock and Chemicals, Drugs and Pharmaceuticals, Medical Devices and Research, Testing and Medical Laboratories and Bioscience-related Distribution) from 2016 to 2018 for the entire country and each of the fifty states.

Highlighted as a national leader in life sciences sector employment, with sizeable employment and industry concentration in the areas of agriculture feedstock and chemicals, drugs and pharmaceuticals, and medical devices and equipment, Indiana continued its top 10 employment ranking in the life sciences. The state is also one of only nine states with employment specializations in three of five bioscience sectors. In addition, Indiana is ranked eighth for National Institutes of Health funding growth, with an increase of 44 percent over the years 2016 to 2019.

“Indiana’s life sciences are unique in their product and geographic diversity.  Medical devices, biotech, pharmaceuticals, agricultural products, and research testing are found in all four corners of the state, and many areas are growing,“ said Patty Martin, president and CEO of BioCrossroads, said. “Whether it is in our major metro areas or smaller cities, important, innovative and life-saving work is driving the health of Hoosiers as well as the health of our state economy.”

  • Bloomington* has been the number 1 small metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in the Medical Devices and Equipment category for specialized employment concentration for the last six years. It is also ranked 20th nationally for Medical Devices and Equipment.  For small MSA Drugs and Pharmaceuticals employment, the city is the 5th highest in the U.S. and is 8th in Bioscience-Related Distribution.
  • Evansville ranks 12th in the medium MSAs for Agricultural Feedstock and Chemicals.
  • Indianapolisis 6th nationally for number of Drugs and Pharmaceuticals jobs and rises to the number 2 for large MSAs for employment concentration. It ranks 8th in the U.S. for Agricultural Feedstock and Chemicals jobs.
  • Lafayette has four subsectors with specialized employment concentration and has improved its standing significantly in two areas since the last report in 2018. It jumped three spots to 3rd in the Agricultural Feedstock and Chemicals for medium MSAs and is 18th In the Drugs and Pharmaceuticals category, Lafayette vaulted its position to 3rd from 13th. In Research, Testing and Medical Laboratories, Lafayette remained at the 10th position.
  • Michigan City-La Porte ranks 14th in the small MSAs for employment concentration in Medical Devices and Equipment.
  • South Bend-Mishawaka ranks 14th in the medium MSA category for Research, Testing and Medical Laboratories.
  • Terre Haute ranks 14th for small MSAs in both the Drugs and Pharmaceuticals and the Research, Testing and Medical Labs

Indiana is home to the global headquarters of Anthem, Inc., Cook Medical, Eli Lilly and Company, and Zimmer Biomet and the North American headquarters of Roche Diagnostics; Beckman Coulter, Boston Scientific, Catalent Biologics, Corteva Agriscience, Covance, DePuy Orthopaedics, Express Scripts, Medtronic, and Reckitt Benckiser all host major operations in the state.

According to the report, 1.87 million people work in the U.S. bioscience industry, which has seen employment growth of 7.2 percent since 2016, twice the rate of other private sector industries. In addition, the sector contributes more than $2.6 trillion to the U.S. economy.

The full report is available at https://www.bio.org

About BioCrossroads

BioCrossroads (www.biocrossroads.com) is Indiana’s initiative to grow, advance and invest in the life sciences, supporting the region’s existing research and corporate strengths while encouraging new business development.  BioCrossroads invests capital and provides support to life sciences businesses, launches new life sciences enterprises (Indiana Biosciences Research Institute, 16 Tech, Indiana Health Information Exchange,  BioCrossroadsLINX, OrthoWorx and Datalys Center), expands collaboration and partnerships among Indiana’s life science institutions, promotes science education and markets Indiana’s life sciences industry.

*All cities listed are inclusive of their metropolitan statistical areas.

Small MSA is total private employment less than 75,000. Medium MSA is for total private employment between 75,000 and 250,000. Large MSA is total private employment greater than 250,000.

Data is from 2018, the most recent available.