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Initiative: IU Emerging Technologies Center Lab Expansion
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana

More Lab Space, More Business

By expanding its lab space, the Indiana University Emerging Technologies Center will attract more businesses and jobs

“Finding space that is conducive to biomedical research is not easy for a startup business,” says Jim Strickland, president of FAST Diagnostics. “Wet lab space is at a premium in Indianapolis.”

Soon premium research space will be less rare in Indianapolis. The IU Emerging Technologies Center (IUETC) business incubator is expanding its wet lab space, giving more access to fledgling businesses throughout the state and nation.

Life Sciences Boom

Wet lab space includes the equipment and utilities—such as fume hoods, sinks, acid-resistant surfaces, natural gas, and distilled water—that life sciences businesses need to conduct safe, accurate research. Founded in 2003, the IUETC already has 10,000 square feet of wet lab space, but the space filled up over a year earlier than IUETC President and CEO Mark Long anticipated.

“We’re adding the wet lab space out of demand,” he says. “It’s a great problem to have: needing additional space for more jobs.” In its history, the IUETC has graduated seven clients and created more than 370 new high-tech jobs.

In the first half of 2008, the IUETC will add another 2,500 square feet of wet lab space, converting it mostly from manufacturing space. As a result, current tenants can expand, new companies can launch, and other startups can move in.

“Our goal is to nurture these companies and provide more stimulus to the life sciences in Indiana,” Long says.

Fast Company

FAST Diagnostics hopes to benefit from the expansion. Started by IU alumnus Jim Strickland and IU School of Medicine physician Bruce Molitoris, FAST Diagnostics is using fluorescent markers and optical sensors to develop a measurement of kidney function that is more accurate than existing techniques and drastically quicker, taking 15 to 30 minutes instead of 24 hours. Acute kidney injury or renal failure affects 5 percent of all hospital patients and 15 percent of patients in intensive care, Strickland says.

FAST Diagnostics already has an office in the IUETC, and Strickland is looking forward to bringing a significant portion of its research under the same roof. “The expansion will allow us to bring our prototype device in house and make us more efficient,” he says.

Research Hub

Translational Therapeutics, based outside of Boston, Massachusetts, has partnered with two IUETC tenants in developing targeted cancer chemotherapeutics. President and CEO Gordon Jamieson is considering a move to the IUETC, and he sees the additional wet lab space as one of many advantages to doing business in Indiana, including low costs, financial support for startups, top universities, and an emphasis on economic development.

“We think this is a great location because other companies at the IUETC are current collaborators and likely future collaborators,” Jamieson says. “We like the rich research environment of Indiana and its universities.”

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