Indiana's technology targets: growing life sciences, IT, advanced manufacturing and logistics.

BACK IN THE '90S, CIVIC LEADERS across the country all wished their communities could become the next Silicon Valley. Technology-based businesses were clearly the key to future prosperity, and the model appeared to be such places as the Valley or Route 128 near Boston.

The new millennium has ushered in an era of greater pragmatism and, one could argue, wisdom. Yes, technology is the key to the future, but rather than working toward envious replication of others' successes, tech boosters know that it makes more sense to celebrate and build upon a region's own strengths.

Here in Indiana, those interested in growing technology businesses have been striving to create a high-tech environment that reflects the state's assets and business history, an environment that is vibrant and uniquely Indiana. They've identified lout key sectors in which the state enjoys inherent strengths, from educational and research resources to geography to a critical mass of existing businesses. The conclusion is that Indiana is strong--and can become even stronger--in life sciences, information technology, advanced manufacturing and logistics.

"We have substantial technology assets in the state of Indiana," says Cameron Carter, president and CEO of TechPoint, an Indianapolis-based organization that strives to boost technology-related business through educational and networking programs, member services, advocacy and economic-development efforts.

The state, he says, boasts significant clusters of companies doing business in the four target sectors. Its universities--including Indiana and Purdue universities, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, the University of Notre Dame, Ball State University and others--provide tremendous research-and-development operations, Carter says. Technology-based incubators are sprouting across the state as well. "We have a lot of these assets and we need to leverage them and be proactive in doing so."

LIFE SCIENCES

Of the four technology sectors now in the Indiana spotlight, life sciences may be the one that's the most developed. Much of this sector's prominence has blossomed from the success of Eli Lilly & Co., the Indianapolis-based pharmaceutical giant. As the state's second-largest company, it's a huge player in its own right, but it also has had a catalyzing effect on the industry in general. Indiana-based medical-device maker Guidant Corp. is a Lilly spin-off and agribiotechnology player Dow AgroSciences formerly was a Lilly joint venture. Lilly funding has spawned significant research at Indiana institutions, as has funding from the Lilly Endowment, originally created with Lilly-linked wealth.

Founded in 1876, Lilly was one of the first companies to initiate a bona fide pharmaceutical research program. It was a pioneer in the production of insulin and antibiotics, and in the 1980s launched a new breed of antidepressants with its blockbuster Prozac. Significant Lilly products have tackled cancer, heart disease, schizophrenia and osteoporosis, and more recent breakthroughs are targeting sepsis, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and erectile dysfunction.

But Lilly is just one of the longtime Indiana life-sciences players. Miles Laboratories in Elkhart built a storied history with products including Alka-Seltzer. Mead Johnson & Co. in Evansville has through the years made...