Study: Healthcare, life sciences bring $150B to Indiana’s economy
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A new report from Ohio-based TEConomy Partners shows Indiana’s healthcare and life sciences sector has a $150 billion annual economic impact for the state. The study, commissioned by BioCrossroads, examined how the sector benefits other industries such as manufacturing, technology and retail, as well as its non-traditional impacts, including economic development and access to healthcare.
“It also goes back to just the sheer amount of innovation and production that’s happening within the sector that’s not only benefiting Hoosiers, but really the health of people all over the world,” said Lori LeRoy, executive vice president of communications for BioCrossroads.
In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, LeRoy said while the numbers are impressive, more investment is needed to further growth.
“We need to double down and ensure that we continue to have a growing and strong ecosystem to welcome in new companies to encourage expansions,” said LeRoy. “We had the announcement from Lilly about their big expansion up in Lebanon. We’ve seen some great expansions down in Bloomington with Catalent, and Fishers has had a lot of great wins recently as well. And so we just need to continue to encourage investment in our life sciences, and I think it’ll pay off really well.”
The report says the healthcare and life sciences sector directly employs one in every 10 jobs in the state, or more than 383,000 people. Additionally, every $1 of goods and services produced by the sector generates an additional 52 cents in the state’s economy.
The report also notes the sector’s impact on Indiana’s manufacturing industry, saying 42,000 Indiana jobs are in life sciences manufacturing, accounting for 8% of all manufacturing jobs in the state.
LeRoy says the crossover between life sciences and manufacturing in Indiana is significant, citing Indiana’s place as the only state to produce all three FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccines, as well as having companies like Roche Diagnostics and a multitude of orthopedic companies in northeast Indiana.
“What’s great about Indiana is not just the volume, but we also have a very diverse group of types of products that are manufactured here, everything from the biologic products that may be injected or taken for therapeutic purposes, but also, treatments for knee replacements and diagnosing of disease. So it’s fairly unique in that sense that Indiana has a wide variety of types of life sciences products that are manufactured here.”
The report shows more than 4 million square feet of construction projects have been underway since 2020, accounting for $5.5 billion in capital spending by healthcare and life sciences companies.
“Hoosiers working in healthcare and life sciences are discovering, making and delivering treatments and cures to improve the quality of life for those of us in Indiana – and people all over the world – all while driving Indiana’s economy,” BioCrossroads CEO Patty Martin said in written remarks. “However, we need to be proactive to take advantage of opportunities; to bring in additional investments; and ensure that we sustain and optimize the state’s ecosystem conditions to allow this important sector to thrive.”
You can connect to the full report by clicking here.