BioConvergence off to ‘fantastic start’

Baron Hill tours Bloomington life-sciences startup

By Sarah Morin 331-4363 | smorin@heraldt.com
July 5, 2007

Rep. Baron Hill, D-Ind, left, tours a lab Tuesday at BioConvergence as Lance Wright, chief engineering officer, and Alisa Wright, CEO, explain the equipment. Sarah Morin | Herald-Times
» buy this photo

In less than two years since starting in April 2006, BioConvergence has grown to 21 employees and is constructing a 21,000-square-foot addition to be ready for more growth at the new life-sciences company in Bloomington.

“From a business standpoint, we’re off to a fantastic start,” said CEO Alisa Wright.

Rep. Baron Hill, D-Ind., saw for himself Tuesday.

He toured BioConvergence and spoke with Wright and her team about the startup company. BioConvergence offers consulting resources, materials management or storage in very controlled environments and product development.

Hill called the life-sciences industry the future of business in Indiana.

But not everyone knows that the state is one of the leaders in life-sciences employment.

There’s California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina and ... “nobody knows the fifth,” said Lance Wright, chief engineering officer at BioConvergence. It’s Indiana.

Hill told the BioConvergence team that he’s out touting life sciences, especially in southern Indiana, where more employment options are needed.

A bragging point for BioConvergence is that all the leaders are from Indiana and are involved in the local higher education scene, with Indiana University and Ivy Tech, to keep talented Hoosiers here.

BioConvergence has interns from both institutions.

“We have brain gain,” as opposed to brain drain, said Alisa Wright.

She pointed to Ivy Tech, with the 35-acre BioConvergence site literally in its backyard, as a model for other schools to encourage development and jobs in life sciences. A multimillion-dollar facility called the Indiana Center for the Life Sciences is planned adjacent to the Ivy Tech campus and BioConvergence.

A future possibility for BioConvergence is storing biodefense vaccines.

It’s a process that requires contacts in different federal agencies, such as the Department of Defense.

“We can help,” Hill said. He said he would point Wright in the right direction.

If BioConvergence is awarded a federal contract for biodefense vaccine storage, it would probably never be revealed because of security and safety.