LifeNet Health, a global provider of life sciences and regenerative medicine solutions, announced its expansion into Indiana as President and CEO Rony Thomas joined state and local officials to cut the ribbon on its new facility in Hendricks County. To support its growth, the company has already created 45 new jobs in Indiana and plans to grow its team up to 127 employees by the end of 2023.
"It's a day of celebration as we welcome another growing, innovative company to Indiana,” said Elaine Bedel, president of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC). “LifeNet Health is in great company here, joining an ecosystem of more than 1,750 life sciences firms that are developing life-enhancing and life-saving solutions. I’m confident the state’s skilled workforce and talent pipeline will contribute to LifeNet’s growth and continued ability to serve patients.”
Founded in 1982, LifeNet Health provides a variety of transplant solutions from organ procurement to new innovations in tissue-implant technologies and cellular therapies. The company is investing more than $18 million to expand into Indiana, establishing and equipping a 70,000-square-foot biologics logistics center at 845 Airtech Parkway in Plainfield. The new facility, which is now operational, will complement LifeNet Health’s existing locations on both the East and West coasts, ensuring it can meet the growing need for tissues and cells to support both surgical patient care and biomedical research.
LifeNet Health, which employs approximately 1,200 people across its Virginia, Florida, Washington, California and Vienna, Austria, locations, has already hired 45 toward its goal. The company is currently hiring for a facilities manager and general manager, as well as distribution service technicians positions. Interested applicants may apply online.
“The surgeons and patients we serve demand unique capabilities,” said Rony Thomas, president and CEO of LifeNet. “Establishing this biologics logistics center represents a commitment of excellence to our customers and partners, as well as their patients.”
Based in Virginia Beach, Virginia, LifeNet Health is an innovator in regenerative medicine, a field that includes organ and tissue transplantation, cell-based therapies and advances in personalized medicine. Each year, LifeNet Health distributes more than 600,000 tissue implants — for use in multiple surgical disciplines including orthopedics, neurosurgery, cardiac and vascular surgery — to benefit patients in more than 40 countries on six continents. It is also the federally-designated organ procurement organization for the state of Virginia, where it facilitates nearly 500 organ transplants annually.
According to BioCrossroads and the Indiana Business Research Center, Indiana is the second largest exporter of life sciences products in the U.S. at $10.2 billion in total exports in 2018. Together, more than 1,750 companies support more than 56,000 Hoosier jobs with average wages of approximately $97,600 annually.
“The town of Plainfield is incredibly pleased to be the home for this new expansion of LifeNet Health," said Brandgard. "We have one of the largest and best maintained industrial business park areas in the Midwest region and are internationally known as a center for logistics excellence, and LifeNet Health's expansion is a big step in our growing life sciences industry."
The IEDC offered LifeNet Health up to $1.25 million in conditional tax credits and $100,000 in training grants based on the company’s job creation plans. These incentives are performance-based, meaning the company is eligible to claim incentives once Hoosiers are hired. The town of Plainfield will consider additional incentives at the request of Hendricks County Economic Development Commission.