< Back to Listing
May 10, 2010
Kansas poised for further growth in internationally recognized animal health and drug development sectors
SHAWNEE, Kan. — The Kansas Bioscience Authority is providing a $2.2 million boost to two business expansions that are expected to result in an estimated $18.5 million in capital expenditures and new jobs in Kansas, as well as three research projects that will fight cancer, autoimmune disorders, and a disease threatening the American food supply.
The KBA board of directors approved the following investments today:
- Cargill Meat Solutions of Wichita was awarded $750,000 over five years to support the construction of a state-of-the-art technology and innovation center focused on food safety and the development of new food products, pending a decision by the company to build the planned research facility in Kansas. Cargill Meat Solutions would make a capital investment of $15 million in the expansion, retain 51 jobs, and hire an estimated 10 new employees. Parent company Cargill employs more than 1,000 people in Wichita and is the city’s largest private sector employer.
- The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Arthropod-Borne Animal Diseases Research Unit (ABADRU) in Manhattan was awarded $498,917 from the KBA’s Collaborative Biosecurity Research Initiative to accelerate the development of diagnostic tests intended to prevent the spread of Rift Valley Fever virus, a high consequence biological threat to the food supply. The project is a collaboration of ABADRU, Kansas State University, the University of Wyoming and MKS Technologies.
- PRA International of Lenexa will receive $350,000 to expand with a new facility providing bioanalytical laboratory services for clinical trials in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. The company, which already employs 125 people in Lenexa, intends to create 52 new jobs over five years and invest $3.5 million in the expansion.
- Lawrence-based Deciphera Pharmaceuticals is slated to receive $390,000 for key R&D studies on drugs to combat gastrointestinal tumors, mast cell leukemias, metastatic cancers, and autoimmune disorders using the company’s proprietary drug discovery platform. Deciphera will partner with XenoTech of Lenexa and Xenometrics of Stilwell on the research, which is expected to identify three lead drug candidates for pre-clinical development.
- The University of Kansas Cancer Center will receive $249,975 for a Collaborative Cancer Research Initiative project focused on breast cancer prevention using Omega-3 fatty acids. The research team will be led by the nationally renowned Dr. Carol Fabian and involve a University of Texas collaborator. Breast cancer is the most common invasive cancer affecting women in the U.S., with about 200,000 cases each year, nearly a quarter of which are diagnosed in patients younger than 50.
KBA president Tom Thornton said the mix of R&D and industrial growth represented by the new investments was a great indicator of the health of the biosciences in Kansas.
“In a challenging economic environment, it’s exciting to see businesses confidently investing millions in expansions that will position them for growth in sectors in which Kansas has internationally recognized bioscience strengths,” Thornton said. “The vitality of the biosciences also depends on significant investments in research, so our new R&D projects are equally exciting. We have tremendous activity going on throughout the bioscience business cycle in our state.”
Related PDF
|