Purdue University (as a member of Heartland BioWorks) will be sharing $51 million in federal funding to support workforce development and business startup efforts in the state’s burgeoning biotechnology ecosystem. Awarded by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration, this funding will catalyze Indiana’s biotechnology innovation and manufacturing efforts, which are a pillar of Purdue’s One Health Innovation District.
One Health will also support the deep connections and research opportunities that will be offered through Purdue University in Indianapolis – which launched July 1 as the university’s urban campus.
The Heartland BioWorks hub is 1 of 12 regional hubs across the U.S. selected to ensure the country is globally competitive in areas that are key to national security. And the hubs will split $500 million in implementation funding that stems from the CHIPS and Science Act.
Announced last year by Applied Research Institute on behalf of the state, Heartland BioWorks brings Indiana academic institutions , industry leaders, investors and nonprofit organizations together to ensure that bioproducts invented in America are also produced domestically.
This biotechnology hub will develop new programs, infrastructure and networks to accelerate workforce development and help dismantle barriers to success for entrepreneurs and small-business owners with developing new biotech products.
This funding will drive biotechnology innovation and manufacturing in Indiana, cementing the state’s position as a national leader in the biotech industry and advanced manufacturing in plant, animal and human health.
BioWorks will be supporting the national need for domestic manufacturing operations for new bioproducts and infrastructure dedicated to innovations in how those bioproducts are made, which will bring new bioproducts to market more quickly and encourage more businesses to start and grow in Indiana.
Purdue’s strategic involvement in the Heartland BioWorks hub is headed by the William D. and Sherry L. Young Institute for Advanced Manufacturing of Pharmaceuticals, which focuses on revolutionizing pharmaceutical manufacturing and making medicines more accessible, more affordable, and more widely available.
The Young Institute – which was launched in 2022 – is a critical component within the university’s One Health initiative and will provide hands-on training in advanced manufacturing technologies as part of BioTrain, a workforce initiative within Heartland Bioworks.
BioTrain’s graduate fellows will be engaging in pharmaceutical manufacturing and develop training programs for industry. And BioTrain also includes curriculum development for a pharmaceutical manufacturing certificate and a collaboration with Ivy Tech Community College. The training programs will focus on continuous processing and emerging technologies for sterile injectable drug products and vaccines.
The Heartland BioWorks hub (1 of 12 selected for funding) is the third successful federal hub designation for Purdue, along with the Midwest Alliance for Clean Hydrogen, which is one of seven as designated by the U.S. Department of Energy, and the Silicon Crossroads Microelectronics Commons, which is one of eight as designated by the Department of Defense.
This participation of Purdue’s West Lafayette campus in the Microelectronics Commons hub is based on its strength in semiconductors. And Purdue University Northwest is the only Indiana university in the hydrogen hub.
Purdue is the country’s only institution of higher education that is a leading university partner in all three national hub wins in 2023-2024, which is a one-in-3,000 competitive success.
KEY QUOTES:
“Through our outstanding faculty and students in One Health, Purdue University is excited to be part of the winning team in this critical national competition. Along with the Silicon Crossroads Microelectronics Commons hub and Midwest Alliance for Clean Hydrogen hub wins, the BioWorks Regional Tech Hub is another important dimension of Applied Research Institute (ARI) and partners like Purdue executing for the success of the CHIPS and Science Act for our state and our country.”
– Purdue President Mung Chiang
“Indiana’s new Tech Hub designation has opened our state up to a next level of opportunities. 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.”
– Gov. Eric Holcomb
“The BioTrain Graduate Fellows program at Purdue will attract and train top-notch talent on future pharmaceutical manufacturing technologies. The training and curriculum development included in this program will help to increase the pipeline of talent needed in industry to support the revolution in pharmaceutical manufacturing.”
– Alina Alexeenko, professor of aeronautics and astronautics and chemical engineering, who serves as Purdue’s principal investigator for the Heartland Bioworks project
“Purdue’s research mission is dedicated to advancing national and economic security, and biotechnology and manufacturing, which are critical to our state. We are thrilled to collaborate with our like-minded partners in the Heartland BioWorks hub and leverage our expertise and cutting-edge research to further enhance biomanufacturing across Indiana and throughout the nation.”
– Karen Plaut, Purdue’s executive vice president for research
