Indiana Rises In Life Sciences Export Rankings

A new study by Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business says only California exports more life sciences products than Indiana.

Research shows Indiana exported $9.7 billion of life sciences products in 2012, which is a third of all of the state’s exports.

"In this case, it's primarily pharmaceuticals and medical devices," said Biocrossroads Project Director Brian Stemme. 

Biocrossroads contributed to the study.

He says the state’s high ranking – up one spot from the previous year – is based on having companies that combine research and development with manufacturing.

"Over the years, Indiana has developed a life sciences workforce that is very capable of working within FDA rules," Stemme said. "So, Food and Drug Administration requires some very strict standards around manufacturing and the fact that we have so many companies doing it, and we've done it for so long, really helps companies be able to do that activity here and ramp up that activity if they are new."

Stemme says the industry’s economic impact is $55 billion for the state.

"The increase in exports is really good news because what it does is it obviously helps the state's and nation's balance of trade and what it does is bring incremental dollars back into the state that otherwise wouldn't have come from domestic shipments," Stemme said.