Indiana Biosciences Research Institute, Indiana-based universities partner to unlock life sciences discoveries

Agreement among research institute, four state universities
to help patients, generate economic growth

INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Biosciences Research Institute has partnered with four Indiana universities to license available life sciences technologies at pre-defined terms. Ball State University, Indiana University, Purdue University and the University of Notre Dame have signed onto the agreement.

The agreement will enable the IBRI more rapid access to available technologies that can be combined with its own research to create synergies and help commercialize technologies more quickly.

“With this arrangement in place, the IBRI will be able to unlock the value of discoveries being made at the state’s top research universities by further developing them or combining them with other technologies and bringing treatments to patients and innovations quicker to market,” said IBRI chief scientific and innovation officer and incoming CEO Rainer Fischer. “Successful commercialization will provide a return to the IBRI, to the universities that contributed intellectual property, and ultimately, to the state of Indiana in the form of economic growth.”

The memorandum of understanding streamlines the process for licensing of university technology and removes hurdles to acquiring valuable technologies and helping speed ideas to market. It also accelerates the IBRI’s mission to bridge the gap between universities and industry.

“The creation and work of the IBRI is a gift to the state of Indiana and its residents,” said Dan Hasler, chief entrepreneurial officer of the Purdue Research Foundation. “This agreement sets the groundwork for stronger research and technology transfer collaboration among Indiana universities. Not only will it expedite IBRI access and translation of university developed intellectual property, it will enhance the quality of life for people across the state.”

The first technologies that the IBRI will license include a mass spectrometry technology and a high sensitivity detection technology for single cell analysis developed at Purdue, and a microfluidic technology developed at the University of Notre Dame.

“IBRI is unique among research institutes in the country,” said Bryan Ritchie, vice president of innovation at Notre Dame. “Not only will IBRI work to make new discoveries in the biosciences arena, but it will facilitate the collaboration and engagement of all the major bioscience players in Indiana. In this new environment, the potential for larger, faster and more impactful commercialization outcomes is now much greater than it has ever been.”

Indiana University’s School of Medicine is already closely collaborating with IBRI as researchers in complementary fields work to advance investigation in areas linked to cardio metabolic disease.

“Partnering with the IBRI and other outstanding research universities across Indiana to combine strengths and jointly promote our innovations benefits all of us,” said IU vice president for engagement Bill Stephan. “Not only will we be able to more rapidly move innovations to market, we’ll also further enhance the state’s economic vitality and continue to distinguish Indiana as a life and bio-sciences leader.”

This agreement marks the first time Ball State has worked with the IBRI.

“Ball State is excited about the opportunity to collaborate with the Indiana Biosciences Research Institute (IBRI) and Indiana’s other research institutions,” said Wil Davis, president of Ball State Innovation Corporation. “Moving Ball State research from the laboratory to the market efficiently is key to advancing our mission of serving the world through innovation. “

About Indiana Biosciences Research Institute

The Indiana Biosciences Research Institute (IBRI) is an independent, nonprofit discovery science and applied research institute currently focused on innovation targeting cardio-metabolic diseases, diabetes and poor nutrition. Inspired by the state and Indiana’s leading life sciences companies, research universities and philanthropic community, the IBRI is building a world-class organization of researchers, innovators, and entrepreneurs that will catalyze scientific discovery and its application, resulting in improved health outcomes for patients. For more information about the IBRI and donation or collaboration opportunities, please visit www.indianabiosciences.org.

About Ball State University

Founded in 1918 and located in Muncie, Ball State is one of Indiana’s signature universities and an economic driver for the state. The university’s 2017-18 enrollment – 22,513 – is the largest in school history and its incoming freshman class of 4,002 is just three students shy of another school record. Every Indiana county is represented among Ball State’s student body, as are all 50 states and 69 countries. Ball State’s 1,140-acre campus is large enough to accommodate premier facilities and 19 NCAA Division 1 sports, but small enough to ensure the friendliness, personal attention and access that are the hallmarks of the university, where 90 percent of classes are taught by faculty. Ball State will have its smallest tuition increase in 41 years for fiscal years 2018 and 2019

About Indiana University

Founded in 1820, Indiana University is one of world’s foremost public institutions. With more than 112,000 students and 19,000 employees statewide, innovation, creativity and academic freedom are hallmarks of its world-class contributions in research and the arts. Bloomington is the flagship campus of the university, and each one of its seven campuses is an accredited, four-year degree-granting institution.

About Purdue University

Purdue University, a top public research institution, offers higher education at its highest proven value. Committed to affordability, the University has frozen tuition and most fees at 2012-13 levels. Purdue has about 40,000 students at its West Lafayette campus and is ranked 21st for public universities by U.S. News and World Report. With 24 alumni who became astronauts, including the first and last person on the moon, Purdue is called the “Cradle of Astronauts.” Committed to pursuing scientific discoveries and engineered solutions, Purdue has streamlined pathways for faculty and student innovators who have a vision for moving the world forward. 

About the University of Notre Dame

The University of Notre Dame is a large, four-year, highly residential research university. Undergraduate students are organized into six colleges: Arts and Letters, Science, Engineering, Business, Architecture,  and Global Affairs.  The university offers over 50 foreign study abroad yearlong programs and over 15 summer programs. Notre Dame's graduate program has more than 50 master, doctoral and professional degree programs offered by the five schools, with the addition of the Notre Dame Law School and a MD-PhD program offered in combination with IU medical School. It maintains a system of libraries, cultural venues, artistic and scientific museums, including the Hesburgh Library and the Snite Museum of Art. Over 80 percent of the university's 8,000 undergraduates live on campus in one of 31 single-sex residence halls, each with its own traditions, legacies, events, and intramural sports teams. In 2017, Notre Dame is ranked 15th for national universities overall in the nation by U.S. News and World Report. The university counts approximately 120,000 alumni. 

Media contacts: 

Christy Denault, IBRI, 317-417-6322, cdenault@indianabiosciences.org 

Cynthia Sequin, Purdue Research Foundation, 765-413-6031, casequin@prf.org

Kathy Wolf, Ball State University, 513-470-3420, kmwolf@bsu.edu

Marc Ransford, Ball State University, 765-717-9783, 00meransford@bsu.edu

Ryan Piurek, Indiana University, 812-855-5393, rpiurek@iu.edu

Nick Swisher, University of Notre Dame, 574-631-2984, nswisher@nd.edu