Gov. Holcomb commends Indiana’s Heartland Bioworks for receiving approximately $51M from U.S. Dept. of Commerce to propel Indiana’s biotech future
INDIANAPOLIS – The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration announced today, that Indiana’s Regional Tech Hub was awarded approximately a $51 million. The funding will support the implementation of the Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs (Tech Hubs) program which Indiana was announced as a designee in October 2023 through Applied Research Institute’s (ARI) Heartland BioWorks hub.
“Indiana’s new Tech Hub designation has opened our state up to a next level of opportunities,” Governor Eric J. Holcomb said. “Now that we have been awarded nearly $51 million to support the implementation, it’s full steam ahead in workforce development and building the specific talent pipelines to support the exact type of innovative business growth and entrepreneurship we want.”
The implementation grant was made possible by the Tech Hubs program created by the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, which was co-authored by Indiana’s U.S. Senator Todd Young. Out of a pool of nearly 380 applicants, ARI’s application for Heartland BioWorks was one of 31 to win a Tech Hub designation, allowing it to participate in the second-round competition to receive a funding award. Of the 31 designated hubs, Heartland BioWorks was one of only 12 to win implementation funding.
“This grant validates Governor Holcomb’s vision for creating an economy of the future, and confirms what our ecosystem has known for a long time—that Indiana is a global pioneer in biotech production,” said ARI CEO Dave Roberts. “Heartland BioWorks is securing America’s biotech future, and this funding will provide critical support to accelerate workforce development and remove barriers for entrepreneurs bringing new biotech products to market.”
The award, the exact amount of which will be finalized in coming months, will be leveraged to support projects that are:
- Attracting and connecting workers, including those historically excluded from the innovation workforce to quality jobs.
- Establishing a formal network to provide navigation resources, mentorship and greater access to facilities and venture capital funding to help innovators successfully scale and launch their bioproducts in the region.
- Constructing BioWorks HQ, a hands-on biomanufacturing training facility for diverse participants to effectively enter the workforce and for current employees to upskill—and for innovators to test and demonstrate their biotech innovations.
- Implementing a grant program to help early-stage innovators surmount cost barriers to accessing these product development facilities, keeping biotech inventions and supply in the U.S.
- Developing training pathways, leveraging curricula from Indiana’s higher education institutions and other globally recognized training programs to prepare participants for high-quality jobs in biomanufacturing operator and lab technician roles once the BioWorks HQ is constructed.
Heartland BioWorks, a consortium led by ARI, brings together key stakeholders from industry, academia, government and nonprofit sectors to ensure that bioproducts invented in America are also made in the U.S. Members include major companies like Eli Lilly, Elanco, Corteva, INCOG, and Roche, as well as academic institutions such as Indiana University, Purdue University, the University of Notre Dame and Ivy Tech Community College. Centered in the Indianapolis metropolitan area, Heartland BioWorks will leverage Indiana’s unparalleled collection of resources and capabilities to secure the nation’s biomanufacturing future
