Greenfield-based Elanco Animal Health Inc. (NYSE: ELAN) is reporting a first quarter net loss of $61 million, compared to a net loss of $49 million during the same period a year ago. Despite the drop, the company says Q1 was its best yet in terms of revenue after becoming a standalone company in March 2019.
Revenue in the first quarter was $1.2 billion, of which $559 million resulted from its acquisition of Bayer Animal Health. Elanco closed on the purchase of the Germany-based animal health division last August.
Indiana companies on the search for talent are pulling out all the stops in a tight labor market. Whitestown-based Weaver Popcorn Manufacturing Inc. is offering $5,000 signing bonuses, as it looks to hire 100 new employees.
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A new survey commissioned by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce shows Indiana employers are optimistic about the business climate in the post-COVID environment. The chamber says 74% of respondents, which are chamber members, think the state has a strong business climate and 63% believe the economy will be better a year from now.
Nearly 900 business leaders from across the state, representing a variety of industries part in the survey in late March.
New leaders of university’s Environmental Resilience Institute replace current director appointed by President Biden to be EPA Deputy Administrator
Indiana University has appointed faculty members Gabriel Filippelli and Sarah Mincey as executive director and managing director respectively of the Prepared for Environmental Change Grand Challenge initiative, the second project developed and funded through IU’s Grand Challenges Program.
In this role, Filippelli and Mincey will share leadership responsibilities for the Environmental Resilience Institute. Launched in 2017 as part of the Prepared for Environmental Change Grand Challenge initiative, the institute includes a broad, bipartisan coalition of government, business, nonprofit and community leaders working to help Indiana better prepare for the challenges that environmental changes bring to our economy, health and livelihood.
Filippelli and Mincey will report to IU Vice President for Research Fred H. Cate, succeeding recent director Janet McCabe who was confirmed this week as deputy administrator at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the Biden administration.
“We owe an extraordinary debt of gratitude to Janet for her leadership of IU’s Prepared for Environmental Change Grand Challenge,” said IU Vice President for Research Fred H. Cate. “Janet’s expertise and leadership have been critical to addressing environmental challenges and establishing the Environmental Resilience Institute as one of the nation’s leading sources of environmental data and research.”
“We are fortunate to have in Gabe and Sarah, two talents with an extraordinary breadth of climate and environmental research, suited to continue advancing the important work of ERI, partnering with Hoosier communities and businesses to better understand and combat environmental challenges facing our state.”
Gabe Filippelli, Chancellor’s Professor in the Department of Earth Sciences at IUPUI and a founding member (and steering committee member) of ERI. Gabe has extensive contacts throughout Indiana and nationwide and served as chair of the Science Committee for the $160-million-per-year Ocean Discovery Program and Editor-in-Chief of the American Geophysical Union journal GeoHealth. He is a fellow of the International Association of Geochemistry and a 2020 recipient of the Indiana University John W, Ryan Award for Distinguished Contributions to International Programs and Studies. Gabe’s appointment provides a stronger connection with IUPUI, a recognized scientific lead, and deep connections with Indiana environmental groups, agencies and funders.
Sarah Mincey, clinical associate professor in the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at IUB. Since 2014, she has directed the Integrated Program in the Environment (IPE), and she is recognized across the campus and throughout the state for her work on sustainability and urban forest management. She chairs the College of Arts and Sciences’ Themester Committee on Resilience, co-chairs the Bloomington Faculty Council Task Force on Sustainability as a Shared Goal in General Education, and serves on the state’s Urban Forestry Advisory Council. Sarah is a member of the ERI steering committee, as well as one of the original investigators in ERI’s urban green infrastructure research cluster. Sarah’s appointment provides a stronger link between ERI and the O’Neill School and new opportunities for better collaboration between ERI and IPE.
“As a member of the original team that developed the Prepared for Environmental Change Grand Challenge proposal, we saw the potential for IU to be a leader in science, communication, and action on environmental change in Indiana and beyond,” said Filippelli. “What the ERI has already achieved in just a few short years has truly exceeded our wildest dreams. Our ambitions are high—to become an internationally recognized leader in environmental resilience—thanks to phenomenal ERI leadership, faculty and staff, we are well on our way to reaching these heights.”
“ERI’s tremendous successes in predicting environmental change and finding equitable solutions have been built on collaboration,” said Mincey. “World-renowned environmental and sustainability researchers from across the disciplines are engaged with IU’s outstanding diversity of students in the lab and in the real world to meet ERI’s mission. And we have seen real successes on the ground as we work across the state in coordinated efforts with government, business and nonprofits to identify and implement solutions with communities. We are thrilled to continue to nourish existing collaborations and to cultivate new partnerships to expand ERI’s reach and broaden its impact.”
Since its establishment as part of the Prepared for Environmental Change initiative in 2017 under the leadership of Distinguished Professor Ellen Ketterson, the Environmental Resilience Institute has made great strides advancing environmental health in Indiana. These accomplishments include:
Empowering Indiana teachers with tools to help students understand climate change through Educating for Environmental Change. The collaboration between IU faculty, K-12 educators and the WonderLab Museum of Science, Health and Technology won the 2020 Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence for “extraordinary initiatives in protecting the environment.”
Working with staff at 11 local governments across Indiana to prepare Climate Action Plans through the Resilience Cohort Program, which will move from planning to implementation this year.
Launching the ERI Data Platform, which helps researchers from diverse disciplines to “connect the dots” to investigate the effects of environmental change.
Unveiling “The State of Nature,” an exhibit at the Grunwald Gallery connecting visual art and natural artifacts to explore Indiana’s natural history.
Environmental Resilience Institute
The Environmental Resilience Institute, founded as part of Indiana University’s Prepared for Environmental Change Grand Challengeinitiative, brings together a broad, bipartisan coalition of government, business, nonprofit and community leaders to help Indiana better prepare for the challenges that environmental changes bring to our economy, health and livelihood. Announced in May 2017, Prepared for Environmental Change is working to deliver tailored and actionable solutions to communities across the state of Indiana.
IU Grand Challenges program
Indiana University’s Grand Challenges program initiatives, according to IU President Michael A. McRobbie are “few, large, focused and measured by their impact” — impact on individuals, communities, the economy, or the quality of life in Indiana and beyond. This bold effort is the culmination of committed, multisector partnerships and dedicated research teams working together to solve some of the largest and most pressing problems of our time: bringing precision medicine to Hoosiers, combating the addictions crisis, and better preparing our businesses and communities for environmental change.
IU Research
IU’s world-class researchers have driven innovation and creative initiatives that matter for 200 years. From curing testicular cancer to collaborating with NASA to search for life on Mars, IU has earned its reputation as a world-class research institution. Supported by $854 million last year from federal, foundation, and other external support, IU researchers are building collaborations and uncovering new solutions that improve lives in Indiana and around the globe.
Builds on Proven Solution to Combat Child Food Insecurity
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced a new effort funded by the American Rescue Plan to provide adequate nutrition to more than 30 million children over the summer by expanding Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) benefits. Summer months are difficult for low-income children because they lack access to school meals that fill a nutrition gap during the school year. When school is out of session, summer feeding programs—considered a lifeline for some families—reach just a small fraction, typically less than 20%, of the number served during the school year. This summer, USDA will offer P-EBT benefits to all low-income children of all ages, helping families put food on the table during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The expansion of P-EBT benefits over the summer is a first-of-its-kind, game-changing intervention to reduce child hunger in the United States,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “By providing low-income families with a simple benefit over the summer months, USDA is using an evidenced-based solution to drive down hunger and ensure no child has to miss a meal.”
P-EBT was established in March 2020 to provide food dollars to families to make up for meals missed when schools have closed due to COVID-19. The program was set to expire on September 30, 2021, but through the American Rescue Plan Act, benefits are now available for the duration of the pandemic, including during the summer months.
P-EBT builds on lessons learned from USDA’s Summer EBT pilots, which began in 2011 and have proven successful at reducing severe food insecurity as well as improving the quality of children’s diets. Recent research by the Brookings Institute confirms P-EBT also has a measurable impact on food insecurity, decreasing food hardship faced by low-income children by 30% in the week following benefit issuance.
Children are eligible for this temporary nutrition benefit – loaded onto an EBT card that can then be used to purchase food – if they are eligible to receive free or reduced-price meals during the school year or if they are under age six and live in a SNAP household. Families of eligible children typically receive $6.82 per child, per weekday, or roughly $375 per child over the summer months.
“Help is here for financially stressed families trying to put food on the table,” said Stacy Dean, deputy undersecretary for USDA’s Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services. “Our nutrition assistance programs are powerful tools that are critical to America reaching a full and equitable recovery from the pandemic.”
Some 29 million adults and as many as 12 million children haven’t always had enough to eat throughout this pandemic. Further, food insecurity has disproportionate impacts on communities of color, with more than 1 in 5 Black and Latino adults living in food insecure households compared to 1 in 9 adults overall. However, recent data from the Census Bureau shows food insecurity among adults has fallen from 14 percent to 9 percent from December 2020 to April 2021.
The announcement today comes in addition to a variety of actions taken recently by USDA to strengthen food security, drive down hunger, and put a greater emphasis on the importance of nutrition. Just recently, USDA maximized economic relief for struggling families by taking administrative action on SNAP emergency allotments by targeting an additional $1 billion per month to roughly 25 million people. The Biden-Harris Administration’s American Rescue Plan Act provides over $12 billion in new nutrition assistance to address hardship caused by the pandemic, including:
Extending a 15 percent increase in SNAP benefits— providing over $1.1 billion per month in additional benefits for about 41 million participants—through September 2021;
Adding $1.1 billion in new funding for territories that operate nutrition assistance block grants—home to nearly 3 million Americans—to support those hard-hit by the pandemic;
To help reopen schools safely in the fall and address child food insecurity, USDA issued a broad range of flexibilities that will allow schools and childcare institutions to serve healthy meals for free to all kids in the 2021-2022 school year;
Funding meals for young adults experiencing homelessness through Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) emergency shelters;
Providing nearly $900 million for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), including a temporary increase in fruit and vegetable vouchers to $35 per month and an historic investment in innovation and outreach to better serve more than 6.2 million people that use WIC to support a healthy start for infants and young children.
For more information about P-EBT, please visit the P-EBT website.
Indiana’s tech sector shot out of the investment gate this year with $102 million in publicly announced raises, 15 M&A transactions reported, and two new, tech-focused venture capital funds.
“When you recall that Indiana tech companies raised a bit more than $174 million in all of 2020, $102 million in Q1 is an exciting start to the new year,” said TechPoint CEO Mike Langellier. “And the newly created funds brighten the startup investment outlook for the years ahead.”
In total, TechPoint, the state’s nonprofit tech industry growth accelerator, tracked capital raises at 16 Indiana companies, grant awards from three others and 15 reported mergers or acquisitions in the first quarter of 2021.
The TechPoint report focuses on investments made into tech companies, so the creation of the new venture funds are not factored into the sector’s quarterly investment total. However, formation of the funds is significant and worth noting.
High Alpha Capital will use its new $110 million fund to continue investing in Pre-Seed, Seed and Series A B2B SaaS companies, both that they start through High Alpha Studio, as well as existing companies — across geographies — they invest in through High Alpha Capital.
Round One Capital was formed by tech veterans Jay Love, former co-founder and CEO of eTapestry and Bloomerang; Gary Rush, former CTO of ExactTarget and Angie’s List; Todd Katz, former CEO of Bell-Horn; Scott Brenton, Former COO of Angie’s List, and President & Chairman of the Orr Fellowship; and John Wechsler, Founder and CEO at Launch Fishers and The Indiana IoT Lab, formerly a Partner at DeveloperTown and President at Formstack. The $2 million fund will focus on new tech companies that have received formation funding, but aren’t quite ready for venture or private equity funding.
There was a flurry of new development in Bloomington’s tech community, the recently announced recipient of the 2021 “Rising Tech City Award” at TechPoint’s upcoming Mira Awards. Six Bloomington companies reported investments of almost $300,000.
Also contributing to the activity were two Bloomington-based investment firms – IU Ventures and the Flywheel Fund. Additionally, Envisage Technologies, which received an investment from Norwest Venture Partners in 2020, acquired Indianapolis-based Guardian Tracking in March.
Heliponix, a Purdue-affiliated, West Lafayette startup that creates direct-to-consumer greenhouses, announced a $256,000 National Science Foundation Small Business Innovation Research grant and a matching $50,000 investment from Elevate Ventures.
Flowaste received its second contribution of the quarter in March: a $270,000 pre-seed investment from Plug and Play Ventures of San Francisco.
Purdue University has been hand-picked by Big Idea Ventures LLC, a global leader in early-stage food technology and alternative protein investment, for a new fund to commercialize university intellectual property.
The new Generation Food Rural Partners (GFRP) fund is a $125 million target fund that will fuel economic development in rural communities across the United States through the commercialization of food and agricultural technologies, protein innovation and other university intellectual property.
“We are proud to join a select group of universities for this new opportunity focused on commercialization, higher education and rural economies,” said Wade Lange, vice president and chief entrepreneurial officer of the Purdue Research Foundation. “Purdue has a strong network of innovators focused on technologies to provide food and agricultural solutions.”
The new fund is designed to capture universities’ breakthrough technologies that will impact the global food supply chain.
“Indiana’s agbioscience economy generates more than $52 billion in revenue with more than half of that coming from value-added food and nutrition,” said Mitch Frazier, president and chief executive officer of AgriNovus Indiana. “Indiana’s strengths across agbioscience, technology, manufacturing and logistics provide a powerful platform for post-pandemic food supply chain innovation and growth.”
About Purdue Research Foundation
Purdue Research Foundation supports Purdue University’s land-grant mission by helping the university improve the world through its technologies and graduates. Established in 1930, PRF is a private, nonprofit foundation. The foundation helps patent and commercialize Purdue technologies; builds places to encourage innovation, invention, investment, commercialization and entrepreneurship; and makes equity available to students to finance their Purdue education. For more information on licensing a Purdue innovation, contact the Office of Technology Commercialization at [email protected]. For more information about involvement and investment opportunities in startups based on a Purdue innovation, contact the Purdue Foundry at [email protected].
About Purdue University
Purdue University is a top public research institution developing practical solutions to today’s toughest challenges. Ranked the No. 5 Most Innovative University in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, Purdue delivers world-changing research and out-of-this-world discovery. Committed to hands-on and online, real-world learning, Purdue offers a transformative education to all. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue has frozen tuition and most fees at 2012-13 levels, enabling more students than ever to graduate debt-free. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap at purdue.edu.
The good work that started last year with Andretti Autosport in raising both funds and awareness for Indiana’s Gleaners Food Back will continue in May at the Indianapolis 500 with the No. 98 Honda entry driven by Marco Andretti.
Colton Herta’s No. 88 Andretti Honda entry was successful in launching Gleaners “No One Runs on Empty” campaign in 2020, and with a new red, white and orange livery carrying the message for the 105th Indy 500, along with branding for program supporter Group1001, Andretti has a cause to support that goes beyond the traditional pursuit of victory at the Speedway.
“I’m ready to get back on track at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this May and I’m very excited that I get to do that while representing such a great organization like Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana and Group1001 to help make sure No One Runs On Empty,” Andretti said. “I have put all of my focus into winning the Indianapolis 500 this year and I feel that the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is where I bring the most to the table as a driver. I have come so close to winning over the years and after winning the pole last year, I’m more determined than ever to get an Indianapolis 500 win.”
Through the ongoing promotional involvement with Andretti Autosport, Gleaners hopes to receive increased financial support and turn the donations into free meals for Indiana residents in need.
“The No One Runs on Empty awareness campaign launched last July with key goals of raising awareness of the impact of food insecurity on the lives of our neighbors, and spurring action in the form of advocacy, volunteerism, or donations. By any measure, that effort was a success,” said John Elliott, CEO, Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana.
“We also hoped for continued development of our partnership with Andretti Autosport, and the addition of new mission partners who were drawn to our mission and to those we serve. The Andretti family became part of the Gleaners team in every way and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway stepped forward in a big way, allowing us to host mobile pantries on site, and engaging with Gleaners as an official charitable partner. And today, we welcome a new mission partner – Group1001 – who heard our message in 2020 and wanted to be a part of it in 2021. No one runs on empty – certainly not Marco – but even more critically, the nearly 1 million Hoosiers who may face food insecurity at this very moment.”
Ninth Avenue Foods, a beverage production company, announced plans today to locate in Indiana, establishing its Midwest headquarters and production facility in Bartholomew County. To support its growth, the company plans to create up to 111 new jobs by the end of 2025.
“Indiana’s central location, strong agriculture sector and business-friendly climate make the Hoosier State the ideal spot for dairy processors,” said Governor Eric J. Holcomb. “Companies like Ninth Avenue Foods are the reason Indiana is home to a thriving, cutting-edge dairy industry, and we look forward to the company’s continued growth as we work to create new careers and support Indiana farmers.”
The company, which is headquartered in southern California, will invest roughly $103 million to build and equip a 260,000-square-foot dairy and plant-based beverage manufacturing operation on Columbus’ south side near the intersection of 175 W and Deaver Road. The new facility will house up to seven state-of-the-art filling lines and serve as the company’s Midwest headquarters, adding to the company’s West Coast operations to enable a national customer reach.
“After searching many locations in multiple states, Columbus, Indiana, was chosen as the perfect fit for our growing company,” said Ted DeGroot, Ninth Avenue Foods chief operating officer. “We wanted to expand to the Midwest, and for many reasons, Indiana and specifically Columbus, stood out. Friendly people, a growing community and high-quality workforce were all factors in our decision. We are excited to become a part of this vibrant and welcoming, family-friendly community and look forward to opportunities for expansion and growth.”
Ninth Avenue Foods will be hiring in Columbus for warehouse, production, maintenance and instrument control technicians, quality technicians and administrative positions beginning March 2022. Open positions will officially be announced on the company’s website.
Ninth Avenue Foods is a family-owned company that specializes in extended shelf-life dairy and dairy alternative products. A combination of high temperature and an ultra-clean filling environment enables Ninth Avenue Foods to package dairy and nondairy products with an extended shelf-life while maintaining the nutritional benefits of the product. The new state-of-the-art facility will allow production of some products that do not require refrigeration, providing a greener alternative to conventional refrigerated storage and transportation.
“I’ve been impressed by the company’s approach to mixing family values with innovative production capabilities,” said Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop. “By leveraging Columbus, Indiana’s nationally recognized manufacturing strengths, we trust Ninth Avenue Foods will find great success here, and we are more than pleased to support their new state-of-the-art beverage facility and Midwest headquarters here.”
The Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) partners with industry organizations like AgriNovus Indiana, the state’s initiative dedicated to promoting and accelerating the growth of the agbiosciences community, in order to target business recruitment in high-skilled, high-growth sectors. AgriNovus works to cultivate business development needs within the agriculture sectors, helping recruit organizations like Ninth Avenue Foods to expand or locate in Indiana.
“Innovation in food and nutrition are essential to Indiana’s agbioscience economy and the broader food supply chain – especially post pandemic,” said Mitch Frazier, president and chief executive officer of AgriNovus Indiana. “Ninth Avenue Foods is an innovator that is positioned to thrive as part of Indiana’s growing $29 billion value-added food and nutrition industry.”
America’s dairy farmers are critical to agriculture, not just in Indiana but around the world. Producing a net surplus of 3.5 million pounds of milk each day, Indiana is continuing to grow its dairy industry by adding processing capacity, fostering product innovation and leveraging the Hoosier State’s unique advantage in critical infrastructure from agriculture to transportation to skilled labor through Indiana Dairy Strategy 2.0, a new strategic focus on dairy business expansion, development and attraction to our great Hoosier state.
The IEDC offered Ninth Avenue Foods up to $1.1 million in conditional tax credits based on the company’s job creation plans. These tax credits are performance-based, meaning the company is eligible to claim incentives once Hoosiers are hired. The IEDC will also provide up to $150,000 to the local community from the Industrial Development Grant Fund to support off-site infrastructure improvements. With the support of Greater Columbus Economic Development Corporation, the city of Columbus will consider additional incentives.
