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KBA Invests Millions, Launches Three National Bioscience Programs at BIO'08
Posted on 2008-06-19 16:23:00
Kansas researchers and companies excel in the human health biosciences, and $3.7 million in new Kansas Bioscience Authority (KBA) investments in that sector will support cutting-edge innovations for the treatment of cancer, HIV, and osteoporosis, as well as in pharmaceutical development.
The authority's new industrial investments include the following:
• Lenexa, Kan.-based TVAX Biomedical will receive $187,622 for a clinical trial of a unique cancer treatment that uses a patient's own immune cells to fight the disease.
• OsteoGeneX of Kansas City, Kan., will receive $375,000 for the further development of a groundbreaking treatment to stop the advance of osteoporosis and related bone disorders. This grant, which is a partial match of a $995,000 federal NIH/NIAMS Small Business Innovation Research grant, is OsteoGeneX's second award from the KBA, following a $130,000 grant last year that resulted in the identification of several bone-building small molecules.
• ImmunoGenetix Therapeutics, Inc., Lenexa, Kan., is eligible for a $420,000 convertible note to support the development of its therapeutic vaccine for HIV designed to inhibit viral replication by enhancing antibody and cellular immune response. The KBA investment will help the company secure an equal amount of funds from other sources.
• Vince and Associates Clinical Research, Overland Park, Kan., has been awarded $200,000 to expand its pharmaceutical clinical research trials capacity to meet significant increases in the demand for clinical studies. The company is making a capital investment of over $1 million, doubling its floor space with a dedicated 50-bed clinical research facility for Phase I trials, and hiring 38 full- and part-time employees over the next three years.
National programs
At the Bio International Convention in San Diego, the KBA also kicked off its new Collaborative Cancer Research Initiative, which launches with $2.5 million in funding for cancer researchers across the country who partner with Kansas researchers on projects that leverage the state's expertise and facilities.
The initiative will enhance cancer research excellence in Kansas — and nationally — by introducing investigators to the state's research facilities and strong expertise in drug discovery, delivery, and development. Academic, federal, and non-profit researchers are invited to collaborate with Kansas scientists at the University of Kansas Cancer Center and elsewhere to perform cancer research not possible at their home institutions.
Ray Smilor, executive director of the Beyster Institute at the Rady School of Management at the University of California at San Diego and a KBA director, said entrepreneurs looking for bioscience opportunities should look in Kansas.
Two other programs first announced in Kansas in recent months also made their national debut at BIO'08.
The $2.5 million Collaborative Biosecurity Research Initiative builds on the state's existing strength in the animal health sector and seeks to bring together researchers nationwide to create products that protect Americans from animal-borne diseases that could harm the food supply, disrupt the national agriculture economy, or infect humans.
The Biosecurity Research Institute Training and Education Program at Kansas State University is going national with specialized training programs to keep research laboratories safe and secure -- so Americans can continue enjoying the benefits of world-class research to combat infectious diseases.
With $1.5 million in KBA funding, the training and education program will help meet the unprecedented demand for biosafety and biocontainment training that has emerged as bioscience research and industry have grown significantly in recent years.
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