The COVID-19 pandemic was a tipping point for the power of biotechnology to solve emerging problems, yet it exposed the national security risk of America’s reliance on the off-shore manufacturing of bioproducts, with the White House setting the goal of ensuring that bioproducts are both invented and made in the US.
Indiana’s Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson MSA features the unmatched collection of resources and capabilities necessary to become the world-leading force that realizes the President’s bioeconomy vision. The region is home to landmark industry leaders that span the bioecosystem (e.g., HQs of Lilly, Corteva, Elanco); the nation’s largest medical school and R1 universities focused on biotechnology and manufacturing innovations (e.g., Indiana and Purdue Universities); coordinated state-regional-local prioritization of life sciences to advance economic opportunities; and a rapidly growing venture ecosystem. The Heartland BioWorks Tech Hub (BioWorks) will unite Indiana stakeholders and concentrate their efforts and resources on emerging biotechnology and biomanufacturing.
Supported by meaningful stakeholder commitments, BioWorks will initially focus on four integrated activities that address key barriers in the region: 1) BioTrain (equitable, hands-on workforce development); 2) BioLaunch (networked infrastructure and support for commercialization); 3) BioWorks HQ (training, technology demonstration, and convening facility); and 4) BioWorks Governance (hub coordination infrastructure). BioWorks will initially target the human/animal health sectors. However, within ten years, BioWorks will fuel Indiana’s economy by bridging and accelerating the commercialization of breakthrough technologies in human, animal, and plant biosciences, transforming these into job-creating companies that improve America’s national security, economic future, and dominance in a biotechnology future.