Central Indiana is home to two of the top three research university analytical chemistry departments in the world, as well as one of the largest developers of protein therapeutics in the pharmaceutical industry. These three institutions— Purdue University, Indiana University, and Eli Lilly and Company—have interacted before, but they had yet to combine their collective strengths to pursue a single vision.

Focused discussions began early in 2001 to create a mechanism for scientists from all three institutions to work together on projects that leveraged the Universities’ world-class expertise in analytical chemistry and instrumentation, and Lilly’s long history of experience with protein therapeutics and protein drug targets.

The goal was to go beyond traditional academic/industry partnerships to create a unique, synergistic environment for breakthrough innovation—far exceeding the value of any single sponsored project involving only one or two of the institutions. By creating this potent combination, the founders also intended for Indiana to be recognized as an attractive region for investment in the life sciences.

As an initial step, the scientists at Eli Lilly and Company reviewed the field of proteomics, identifying bottlenecks and potential gaps in current technologies and analytical methods. Next, a cross-institutional team prioritized these gaps. Based on this information, the principal investigators from IU and Purdue developed collaborative projects that address these challenges. These projects were discussed and evaluated by all three institutions based upon their innovation, their utilization of key strengths at all institutions, and their potential impact on the field of proteomics.

The four most exciting and revolutionary projects were selected to initiate the Indiana Proteomics Consortium, who on July 1, 2003 started doing business as Inproteo. As a unique entity, Inproteo provides a focused research environment of communication, knowledge sharing and biomedical application.

A memorandum of understanding between the founders was signed on February 5, 2002, the Consortium was announced to the national press and the Central Indiana community on February 13, 2002, and the newly formed company initiated operations early in April 2002.