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Warsaw is no stranger to the effect the medical industry can have on a local economy.
But Indiana as a whole is lagging behind the rest of the nation in fostering biomedical research and the resultant businesses that flow from that research.
To counter that trend, the Indiana Health Industry Forum is lobbying the Indiana General Assembly for $125 million in funding over the next 10 years as a part of the forum's Biomedical Research Initiative.
"The Biomedical Research Initiative is the first issue - and the only issue - the forum has taken an advocacy position on," said Jody Peloza Bentz, executive vice president of the IHIF.
"Since our business is growing the medical industry in the state, it is a logical extension for us to help develop the biomedical research opportunities in Indiana," she added.
According to Bentz, there are six "clusters" located around Indiana, where the state's medical industry in concentrated, The largest is understandably in Marion County, home of Lilly Pharmaceutical, Riley Children's Hospital and the Indiana University Medical Centers.
Kosciusko County claims the fourth largest cluster of medical industry-related businesses, with Zimmer Inc., DePuy and Biomet all calling Warsaw and Kosciusko County home, she said.
Indiana, however, lags behind many comparable states in its support for biomedical research, according David Kolasinski, project director of the biomedical research initiative.
"Indiana lags behind 12 comparable regions in support of high-tech and health-related industries," Kolasinski said. "Currently, Indiana is the only state not to be directly invested in biomedical research."
He said the health industry is already a major segment of the state's economy. One in nine jobs in Indiana is directly related to the health industry. Health-related employment in the state accounts for payrolls totalling $8 billion, or 13 percent of the state's total annual payroll.
Additional state support is also needed to assist Indiana businesses and academic institutions in receiving research grants from the National Institutes of Health, Kolasinski said.
"Indiana ranks 14th in the nation in total population, but only 27th in the nation in total federal research and development dollars," he said.
To establish a consistent source of funding for biomedical research, the forum is strongly pushing Senate Bill 514, the Biomedical Research Initiative, through the General Assembly. Their work has been effective on the House side, according to project manager Steven Bryant. However, the Indiana Senate removed the funding from the House budget bill (HB 1001).
"The IHIF's original proposal has been merged with Gov. O'Bannon's proposal to create a '21st Century Growth Fund,' and the resulting compromise has been inserted in SB 514," Bryant said.
If passed by the Senate, agreed to by the House and signed by O'Bannon, the initiative will make $50 million per year available to Indiana businesses seeking to begin or expand biomedical research, he added.
Projects would be reviewed by an independent committee made up of health and business professionals. Each project would be subject to a $2 million funding cap and be expected to meet tight performance criteria, Bryant said.
