New BioCrossroads report shows Indiana is top exporter of life sciences products
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIn 2024, Indiana was the nation’s largest exporter of life sciences products, and the industry generated $99 billion in economic activity, according to a new report from BioCrossroads.
“California is often thought of as the life science center, but actually Indiana is a leader,” BioCrossroads CEO Vince Wong said in an interview with Inside INdiana Business host Gerry Dick. “I think it just gives us a calling card for us to not only reinforce the companies that are already here and to stay here, but also from a company attraction perspective.”
BioCrossroads says from 2023 to 2024, life sciences exports grew from $22 billion to $27 billion, and pharmaceutical exports grew from $15 billion to $21 billion.
According to the report released Monday, more than 70,000 people work in the industry across Indiana. The success of diabetes and weight loss drugs, like Eli Lilly and Co.’s Zepbound and Mounjaro, are seeing success.
Lilly is also investing billions of dollars into the LEAP Research and Innovation District in Lebanon. The nuclear medicine field is also gaining momentum across the state from companies like Novartis and SpectronRx.
“Indiana is playing a really a vital role, a central role, in this amazing growth of obesity therapies,” Wong said. “[Nuclear medicine] really is a center of excellence for us both nationally [and] even globally.”
SpectronRx, a contract manufacturer, invited Inside INdiana Business into one of its facilities in December. The company has grown from a staff of six in 2019 to 175 at its Indianapolis operation.
“We’re working with a lot of therapies, and that’s what’s really big in Indiana right now. There’s just tons of therapies,” SpectronRx CEO John Zehner said. “The entire field has been exploding. There’s been several billion dollar deals that have been advertised…many of those deals were our customers. So my joke is, I get pictures of a lot of boats now that people own that they didn’t own before.”
The report also found the average wage among life sciences careers in Indiana increased by $38,000 over the last year to $148,000 in 2024.
In September, Carmel-based MBX Biosciences Inc. saw its shares jump nearly 48% during its Nasdaq debut. Co-founder and CEO Kent Hawryluk told Inside INdiana Business the move was like opening a door to resources they didn’t have before.
“It really is a means to an end, and we believe it helps bring us closer to our ultimate goal, which is bringing new medicines to the patients who need them,” Hawryluk said.
Across the sector, Indiana’s life sciences companies attracted $260 million across 36 venture capital funding deals.
You can watch Business of Health reporter Kylie Veleta’s full SpectronRx story below and view the full annual report by clicking here.