WEST LAFAYETTE and BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana University and Purdue University announced Thursday (June 19) that they will jointly ask the 2009 General Assembly to create a broad-based research alliance that will help the state grow its bio- and life-sciences industries, improve public health and increase the number of physicians being trained in Indiana.
The Indiana Innovation Alliance would be led by Purdue and IU and would bring together a wide spectrum of businesses, government and universities to share research facilities and other resources to expand the state’s capacity to support new and existing companies in the biology and health-related fields.
The focus of the alliance would be on research with applications in business, including the potential to create new companies. Research also would be directed toward improving the overall health of the state. Indiana public health ranks among the lowest of the 50 states, a statistic that is costly to businesses and a drain on economic development.
Research focuses of the alliance would encompass medical and health-related fields, pharmaceuticals, bioenergy and biofuels, nanotechnology, health-care delivery and the environment.
The universities are proposing that the Legislature create the Indiana Innovation Alliance by appropriating $35 million in each of the upcoming fiscal year 2009-2011 state biennial budget. The funding would include $5 million each year to expand the capacity of the IU School of Medicine to educate physicians.
