INDIANAPOLIS, Aug. 31, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Indiana Biosciences Research Institute (IBRI) today announced that it has named current Chief Scientific and Innovation Officer Rainer Fischer, Ph.D., as Chief Executive Officer alongside his current role, effective October 1, 2017. David Broecker, founding IBRI CEO, will continue to serve the Institute in an advisory role.
“David’s start-up and entrepreneurial expertise was critical to the successful launch of the IBRI, setting the stage for the next phase of the IBRI’s evolution and advancement of our scientific capabilities,” said Dan Evans, Chairman of the Board of IBRI. “Late last year David led us to hiring Rainer Fischer who is now ready to assume the leadership reins. Rainer’s unique experience in developing and leading one of the world’s premier research organizations positions him perfectly to lead the IBRI. David’s continued involvement as an advisor will maintain our momentum going forward.”
Under Broecker’s leadership, the IBRI has built upon its founding capital base of $50 million by raising more than $120 million in additional funding, recruited world-class scientific and operational talent, and spearheaded several early and successful university and industry partnerships involving Dow AgroSciences, Eli Lily and Company, Roche Diagnostics and the Indiana Clinical and Translational Science Institute. Broecker has also championed the establishment of a major innovation district at 16 Tech, on the near northwest side of Indianapolis, committing the IBRI to anchor this new development.
“The IBRI has been an amazing journey for me and I have been able to accomplish all the early goals I set out to achieve with the launch of the Institute. Indiana has one of the most unique life sciences communities and I am proud of the early successes we have created,” Broecker said. “The depth, breadth, and incredible collaboration that we have seen across all of Indiana’s stakeholders – industry, research universities, government, and philanthropic organizations – has been amazing. With Rainer now on board, it is time to pass the baton so he can take the IBRI to the next level of success.”
During Broecker’s tenure as CEO and in conjunction with the IBRI’s scientific advisory board, the Institute has developed three scientific core capabilities: Metabolic Discovery and Translation, Applied Data Science, and Single Cell Bioanalytics, which are already working with researchers from across universities and industry. These core capabilities will be expanded over the next year, and additional core and scientific platforms are now under active development as part of Fischer’s scientific strategic plan.
“I am honored to lead the IBRI as we build world class research and innovation capacity,” said Fischer. “We are grateful to David for the work he has done in developing the Institute to date. He has given us a strong foundation that will help us grow and achieve great things.”
Fischer was previously the Senior Executive Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology, headquartered in Aachen, Germany, and with locations around the world. During his time there, Dr. Fischer grew the Institute from 40 to 680 employees, raised with his team almost one billion Euro in extramural research funding and established collaborations in more than 25 countries. He has co-founded five biotech startups, holds 40 patents, has 64 patents pending, and has published more than 500 scientific papers.
About Indiana Biosciences Research Institute
The Indiana Biosciences Research Institute (IBRI) is an independent, nonprofit discovery science and applied research institute currently focused on innovation targeting cardio-metabolic diseases, diabetes and poor nutrition. Inspired by the state and Indiana’s leading life sciences companies, research universities and philanthropic community, the IBRI is building a world-class organization of researchers, innovators, and entrepreneurs that will catalyze scientific discovery and its application, resulting in improved health outcomes for patients. For more information about the IBRI and donation or collaboration opportunities, please visit www.indianabiosciences.org.