Indiana life-sciences leader has high hopes for sector

Wade Lange has spent nearly 30 years in the life science and pharmaceutical industries.

As president of the Indiana Health Industry Forum, he was instrumental in the establishment of BioCrossroads, a life-sciences booster, as well as biotech degree programs at Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana and Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

Last year, Lange put his decades of experience to work, starting Lange Advisors, an Indianapolis-based company that helps startup life-sciences companies get off the ground.

The Star asked Lange about the future of the burgeoning life-sciences industry and how the business landscape has changed in the past three decades.

Lange responded to The Star's questions from Dusseldorf, Germany, where he was attending one of the world's largest medical device trade shows in conjunction with the Indiana Economic Development Corp. to persuade European businesses to expand in Indiana.

Question: What's the biggest obstacle facing startup biotech companies in Indiana?

Answer: A lack of experienced life-sciences entrepreneurs and a shortage of early-stage capital.

Regarding the small pool of experienced life-sciences entrepreneurs, I believe the answer is a matter of time: You have to believe that the entrepreneurs who are starting up companies now will do it again and again. Since our regional effort is still pretty new, we just haven't had the time for entrepreneurs in the life-sciences sector to do their second and third deals.

But we're seeing entrepreneurs returning to Indiana, or leaving major companies and starting companies. Concerning growth capital, clearly there is much more investment capital here today than compared to just a few years ago, but we are experiencing the same pattern that is seen nationally: Investors are shifting their focus to later-stage investments where risk has been reduced through early clinical trials or other proof of the concept.

Q: You've been involved with the pharmaceutical field since the late 1970s and have been involved with the medical science industry since the 1980s. How have you seen the business climate change for the pharma and life-sciences industries in the past three decades?

A: Those industries are increasingly challenged to generate the financial returns necessary to grow their stock value. It is very difficult to get a sufficient return on their R&D investment in light of society's effort to reduce health-care costs and . . . past R&D success in that the easy diseases have, to a large extent, been successfully treated.

The good news for entrepreneurs is that the pharmaceutical and medical device companies increasingly look to venture-backed companies to play a major role in finding and developing new, innovative medicines and medical devices: They realize that their own laboratories can't possibly have the capacity to sufficiently fill a pipeline of new products, especially in risky areas of R&D. So a new business model of external or open innovation has arisen.

Q: What's the best piece of advice you could offer someone who wants to start a new biotech?

A: Make sure that you are really passionate about doing this. It's a long process, with lots of ups and downs and challenges that you can't possibly foresee. Surround yourself with a great team.

Q: How important was the development of biotech degrees at Ivy Tech and IUPUI to you and the future of that industry in Indiana?

A: I believe that the creation of the degree is important for two reasons. First, Indiana now offers a solution to a clear work force need expressed by Lilly, Dow, Roche and Cook initially, and by many other companies later, for highly trained biotechnology laboratory and manufacturing employees. Second, industry was able to effectively work with Ivy Tech and IUPUI in a highly collaborative way to solve the need -- hopefully a model for future collaborations.

Q: As president and CEO of the Indiana Health Industry Forum, you were instrumental in the creation of BioCrossroads. What did that mean to you, and how have you seen that organization change the life-sciences industry in Indiana?

A: Regarding BioCrossroads specifically, if BioCrossroads weren't in business, the Indiana Future Fund and the Indiana Seed Fund wouldn't exist, and INCAPS (the Indiana Centers for Applied Protein Sciences) and the Indiana Health Information Exchange probably wouldn't have gotten started, or at least not so early.

There are so many more start-ups now. When I joined IHIF in 2000 you could count the life- sciences startups on one hand probably. Now I don't even know them all. You can't tie each company created directly to BioCrossroads or IHIF, but I know that the indirect impact of their collective work is huge.

Q: What's the best piece of advice you've ever given?

A: Try to leave footprints. Your business or school or home environment should be indelibly changed for the better because you were there.

Q: What's the best piece of advice you've ever received?

A: Two golf course lessons from my parents: One, keep your head in the game. Don't let a bad shot or hole on the golf course ruin the rest of your round. Learn from it, and then put it behind you. And, two, repair your ball mark plus one more on the green. The green should be in better condition when you walk off it.