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BizVoice/Indiana Chamber – March/April 2014
“I think the states that have been doing a
particularly good job outside of the two
coasts are those where the state itself has paid
attention to the opportunities around life
sciences company business development,” he
contends. “They’ve made some pretty
significant investments that help support
venture capital activities.”
Ohio’s Third Frontier Initiative, a state
funding program focusing on early-stage
activity in life sciences between industry and
universities, is credited with helping create
80,000 jobs.
And Arizona, once an underdog, is
making its mark.
“It’s a state that started from an extremely
low base in the life sciences industry,” Tripp
explains. “But following a concerted strategy,
and with support of the Fin Foundation helping
to support strategy and implementation, they
have really boosted their profile and ranking
in life sciences.”
Targeting efforts based on a state’s
strengths and opportunities is crucial.
“We base all of the work we do at Battelle
on a core competency assessment,” Tripp
stresses. “What do you have that’s a robust
strength to build upon? Not just a pipe dream of
recruiting something in and hoping that it sticks.”
Tapping into talent
No matter a company’s industry or size,
workforce drives success.
Building relationships among the life
sciences community through networking and
mentoring is one way to enhance productivity.
“The cluster is very important,” Rossman
affirms. “If somebody does choose to leave
their current position, they can stay within
the state … and it makes it more attractive
for somebody that we’re trying to recruit.”
Ball emphasizes that developing a strategy
to maintain skilled workers also is key.
“We’re 10 years old. And we were
building the company when there was a lot of
accessibility to highly trained and highly
educated people,” she comments. “As the
economy turns around, people are going to
have choices. The question for us is: ‘How do
we continue with our way-above-average
retention rates of our employees?’ ”
The answer, she asserts, is collaborations
with universities and government entities.
“So far we’ve seen a pretty heavy
response from the academic institutions, as
well as the hospital networks, on having a
discussion about how we can better qualify
future employees,” she reveals.
Along with large academic research
institutions partnering with industry, private
colleges are helping to move the state forward.
For example, Grace College in Winona Lake
(near Warsaw) offers a master’s degree in
regulatory and clinical affairs to meet a
critical need in the orthopedic industry.
“It’s a great example of breaking through
the stereotypical model of what a liberal arts,
private institution looks like,” Ball declares.
Focusing on workforce development has
played a major role in attracting biosciences
companies to states such as North Carolina.
“If you look at their strategy, it’s very
much rooted in developing customized job-
training programs for companies that are
looking at coming,” Tripp explains. “Indiana
has world-class universities and colleges that
are positioned to provide that. And it also has
companies of significant size that have been
able to grow and show that it’s a state where
you can get the workforce that you need.”
While partnerships help to strengthen
the life sciences community, often there’s a
fine line between collaboration and competition.
“Both are very healthy,” Ball reflects. “I
think there’s a cluster of companies that work
very well together when clients request it or
require it, or we desire it as companies. And
then there are practical times when we have
to work separately.
“It’s exceptionally important for the
professionals who are working in that
environment because you want to try to
figure out how to keep your brain trust,
training longevity and institutional knowledge
kind of in your neighborhood.”
On the collaboration front, while there
is uncertainty regarding the impact of federal
health care reform, Stemme emphasizes that
employment opportunities also will arise.
“Positives will be growth in informatics.
There will be increasing cost pressures on our
large companies, so they’ll continue to
outsource and to share (due to) the growth of
that supply chain.”
Looking through a different lens
BioCrossroads launched the Food and
Agriculture Innovation Initiative, which builds
on the state’s strengths in plant sciences, in
late 2013. It will focus on companies that are
“inventing new things and bringing new
products to market.”
State government is again a partner with
its strong support, with Stemme
acknowledging Lt. Gov. Sue Ellspermann and
leaders of the Indiana Economic Development
Corporation and Indiana State Department of
Agriculture (Victor Smith and Ted
McKinney, respectively).
Embarking on this and other unique
initiatives is key to moving Indiana forward.
“We’re really trying to think outside the
box,” Stemme concludes. “And we don’t want
to be resting on our laurels. There are too
many challenges that are facing the industry.”
“A lot of the activity in Indiana is
manufacturing related. I think that’s
one element of why we’re able to be
geographically dispersed.”
Brian Stemme
BioCrossroads
“In the face of tighter funding and
increasing global competition,
Indiana has been putting in place an
environment where you can help your
industry stay strong and survive.”
Simon Tripp
Battelle Technology Partnership Practice
