Biomedical Research Expands Area Economy - KC Business, May 2012
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Biomedical Research Expands Area Economy Science, entrepreneurship and corporate savvy boost business opportunities STORY BY JULIUS KARASH | PHOTOS BY GARY ROHMAN BIOSCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Union Station, a venerated icon and a symbol of our can-do spirit, leaves its mark on the Kansas City landscape and psyche. But most locals and visitors don’t know that the grand old station is home to the Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute (KCALSI), an organization that advances the life sciences and related economic development in the area. And while the restoration of Union Station marked a great achievement, the constant growth of life sciences activities in our region is cutting a wide swath as well. Much of the impact will come from new jobs created by companies that commercialize life science discoveries taking place in area labs. “These higher technology jobs in life sciences are well-paying, which translates into things like houses and taxes,” says Dan Getman, KCALSI president and CEO (he plans to retire next spring). “These are highly educated individuals, so they feel strongly about education. These are exactly the kinds of things you want to grow. Kansas City is in the midst of significant growth in this whole life science area.” Getman cites life science powerhouses in our area such as the Stowers Institute for Medical Research, the KC Animal Health Corridor and the University of Kansas Cancer Center, which is seeking National Cancer Institute designation. The KCALSI reported recently that the Kansas City area is home to more than 70 contract research organizations that generate an estimated $1.33 billion in annual revenue and employ more than 9,000 workers. Others contributing to growth in the Kansas City area life sciences community include the University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences, Teva Neuroscience Inc. and MRIGlobal, a not-for-profit research and development organization that recently formed a global health and security unit. “Building collaborative relationships with research universities and medical centers has helped us focus and develop programs that are more complementary,” says Tom Sack, who is senior vice president and director of technical operations at MRIGlobal. “As the local academic community grows, that provides us with a much better workforce.” “By having these things like Stowers, the [Animal Health] Corridor, the Kansas Bioscience Authority and the Cancer Center effort,” says Getman, “those cause people to look at Kansas City and say ‘Wow, there’s something really good going on in this area. Maybe I need to go visit. Maybe I want to collaborate. Maybe I want to establish a presence in that region.’” BUT CAN KANSAS CITY REALLY DO THIS? That’s not to say it’s been smooth sailing for the life sciences in Kansas City. In the 1990s, some experts told Jim Stowers that he needed to establish his institute on the East or West Coast rather than Kansas City because the country’s best scientists would not move to fly-over country. But Stowers vowed that he would build the institute here and provide the funding to ensure its success, and he has made good on his word. Of course, most life science efforts won’t be lucky enough to find a Jim Stowers to bankroll them, and Kansas City’s share of research grants and life science venture capital investing pales in comparison to areas such as Boston and San Diego. But funding comparisons can be misleading, Getman says. “Dollar for dollar, it’s hard to compare research funding that goes to our metro area compared with other metro areas because most of the major universities in our region lie outside our metro area. We operate as a broad region.” In addition, Getman says such comparisons typically don’t include organizations such as the Stowers Institute, which was endowed with nearly $2 billion, and MRIGlobal. “Many of these studies are based on NIH (National Institutes of Health) funding,” Getman says. “That really puts a focus on medical research within the immediate Kansas City area. We have much more diverse funding sources, like the Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Homeland Security, as well as NIH.” INSIGHT, INNOVATION & INSPIRATION 35
Biomedical Research Expands Area Economy - KC Business, May 2012
The Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute advances the life sciences and related economic development in the Kansas City region. The existing presence of several big players in biomedicine has been incentive for collaborations and has attracted other organizations to the area. The activity and research of the life sciences community is set to impact the local economy and cement Kansas City’s reputation as a life sciences destination.
Citation preview
Biomedical Research ExpandsArea EconomyScience,
entrepreneurship and corporate savvy boost business
opportunitiesStory by Julius Karash | Photos by Gary
RohmanBioscience and Technology Union Station, a venerated icon and
a symbol of our can-do spirit, leaves its mark on the Kansas City
landscape and psyche.But most locals and visitors dont know that
the grand old station is home to the Kansas City Area Life Sciences
Institute (KCALSI),an organization that advances the life sciences
and related economic development in the area. And while the
restoration of UnionStation marked a great achievement, the
constant growth of life sciences activities in our region is
cutting a wide swath as well.Much of the impact will come from new
jobs created by companies that commercialize life science
discoveries taking place inarea labs.These higher technology jobs
in life sciences are well-paying,which translates into things like
houses and taxes, says DanGetman, KCALSI president and CEO (he
plans to retire nextspring). These are highly educated individuals,
so they feelstrongly about education. These are exactly the kinds
of thingsyou want to grow. Kansas City is in the midst of
significantgrowth in this whole life science area.Getman cites life
science powerhouses in our area such as the StowersInstitute for
Medical Research, the KC Animal Health Corridor andthe University
of Kansas Cancer Center, which is seeking NationalCancer Institute
designation.The KCALSI reported recently that the Kansas City area
is hometo more than 70 contract research organizations that
generate anestimated $1.33 billion in annual revenue and employ
more than9,000 workers.Others contributing to growth in the Kansas
City area life sciencescommunity include the University of
Missouri-Kansas City, KansasCity University of Medicine and
Biosciences, Teva Neuroscience Inc.and MRIGlobal, a not-for-profit
research and development organizationthat recently formed a global
health and security unit.Building collaborative relationships with
research universitiesand medical centers has helped us focus and
develop programsthat are more complementary, says Tom Sack, who is
senior vicepresident and director of technical operations at
MRIGlobal. Asthe local academic community grows, that provides us
with amuch better workforce.By having these things like Stowers,
the [Animal Health] Corridor,the Kansas Bioscience Authority and
the Cancer Center effort, saysGetman, those cause people to look at
Kansas City and say Wow,theres something really good going on in
this area. Maybe I need togo visit. Maybe I want to collaborate.
Maybe I want to establish apresence in that region.But Can Kansas
City Really Do This?Thats not to say its been smooth sailing for
the life sciences in KansasCity. In the 1990s, some experts told
Jim Stowers that he needed toestablish his institute on the East or
West Coast rather than KansasCity because the countrys best
scientists would not move to fly-overcountry. But Stowers vowed
that he would build the institute here andprovide the funding to
ensure its success, and he has made good onhis word.Of course, most
life science efforts wont be lucky enough to finda Jim Stowers to
bankroll them, and Kansas Citys share of researchgrants and life
science venture capital investing pales in comparison toareas such
as Boston and San Diego.But funding comparisons can be misleading,
Getman says. Dollarfor dollar, its hard to compare research funding
that goes to ourmetro area compared with other metro areas because
most of themajor universities in our region lie outside our metro
area. Weoperate as a broad region.In addition, Getman says such
comparisons typically dont includeorganizations such as the Stowers
Institute, which was endowed withnearly $2 billion, and
MRIGlobal.Many of these studies are based on NIH (National
Institutes ofHealth) funding, Getman says. That really puts a focus
on medicalresearch within the immediate Kansas City area. We have
much morediverse funding sources, like the Department of Defense,
the U.S.Department of Agriculture and Homeland Security, as well as
NIH.i n s i g h t, i n n o vat i o n & i n sp i rat i o n
35
Furthermore, there is evidence of substantialgrowth in NIH
funding for the area.The Kansas Bioscience Authority reported
in2010 that Kansas was No. 1 in the nation forits increase in NIH
funding, jumping 37 percent(from $75 million to $103 million)
betweenfiscal year 2004 and fiscal year 2009.One of the emerging
success stories in theKansas City area bioscience sphere is
theOlathe-based Novita Therapeutics, whichis developing new medical
devices for renal,cardiovascular and gastrointestinal health.Novita
got a boost last year when theKansas Bioscience Authority made
a$600,000 investment in the company.Novita Therapeutics president
and CEO isDr. Nicholas Franano. His accomplishmentshave made him
emblematic of the success thatis possible in the
bioscience-business world.In 2001, Franano and William P.
Whitakerco-founded Proteon Therapeutics Inc., whichis developing
pharmaceuticals to address themedical needs of patients who have
renal andvascular diseases.Eight years after that, they received
the 2009Ernst&YoungEntrepreneuroftheYearawardsin the private
equity/venture capital-backedcategory in the Central Midwest
region.Proteon Therapeutics has since grabbedthe attention of Swiss
pharmaceutical giantNovartis AG, which has an opportunity toacquire
the firm for $550 million in 2013.Novita Therapeutics develops
productsinternally, Franano explains. When we get tothe point where
we would like to show themto venture capital investors, we put them
intoa subsidiary company. We created our firstsubsidiary company in
2010, and our secondlast year. Were developing products at
bothsubsidiaries, and were actively talking withinvestors about
spinning off both of them.Kansas has become a great state in
whichto start a life sciences company, Franano
saysfromexperience.WhenIfirststartedin2001,as an entrepreneur, you
could legitimatelycomplain that there werent enough resourcesin the
region to do the kinds of companiesthat I wanted to do. But I think
now theonus is on the entrepreneurs to make good.The Stowers
Institute: By the Numbers475 staff members, more than 150 ongoing
research projects, more than$850 spent on research,
600,000-square-foot research facility in Kansas Cityand 5 American
Academy of Arts and Sciences fellowsKansas City Life Sciences
Industry SegmentsSource: Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute
Inc.s 2009 Industry Census.BiotechnologyResearch and
Testing34%Drugs andPharmaceuticals30%Medical Device
Firms18%FoodScience/Feed orPlant-Based Products12%Software3%Organic
orAgricultural Chemicals3%36 K C B u s i n e ss | K C B C e n tra l
. com
Two Out of Five Aint BadWhen the Greater Kansas City Chamberof
Commerce unveiled its Big 5 ideas forthe region last year, two of
them involvedlife sciences.One idea is the The Worlds Symposiumon
Animal Health, to be held in KansasCity. The Chamber said at the
time that theKC Animal Health Corridor, located betweenColumbia,
Missouri, and Manhattan, Kansas,is home to the single largest
concentration ofanimal health entities in the world.The objective
is to permanently cementKansas Citys position as the preeminent
cityin the country, and perhaps in the world,for animal health
science, says Jim Heeter,Chamber president and CEO. That
includesresearch and development, production, newbusiness growth
and job opportunities.The other life science-related Big idea isThe
KC Regional Translational ResearchInitiative. Translational
research, which issometimes characterized as bench to
bedsideactivity, involves the conversion of laboratorydiscoveries
into new cures and treatments.To establish Kansas City as a
nationallyrecognized center for translational research,the Chamber
has set a five-year goal to raise$40 million. This would augment a
recent$20 million NIH Clinical and TranslationalScience Award
granted to area researchers.Beneficiaries of the existing NIH
grantinclude the University of Kansas MedicalCenter, University of
Kansas, Childrens MercyHospitals and Clinics, Saint Lukes
HealthSystem, Truman Medical Centers, the KansasCity University of
Medicine and Biosciencesand the University of Missouri-Kansas
City.Translational research is the kind ofinitiative, like The
Worlds Animal HealthSymposium, that has the potential to createan
enormous number of jobs and economicgrowth for our region, Heeter
says. Thesetend to be very high-paying jobs. We aretalking about
bringing a lot of money andcreating a lot of economic stimulus
andgrowth for the Kansas City region throughthe development of both
of these. And thatstimulus and growth could contribute to
therealization of a third Chamber Big idea.Heeter says that both
the world animalhealth symposium idea and the translationalresearch
idea dovetail with another Chamberinitiative, The Making of
Americas MostEntrepreneurial City.We want to be the most
entrepreneurialcity in America, he says. That ties intoboth the
translational research and animalhealth initiatives. Both of those
involve agreat deal of entrepreneurism and creationof new
businesses and new facilities. Withrespect to the commercialization
of thescience produced by research in particular,entrepreneurism is
the key.And beside the potential for creating andattracting new
businesses, research projectsin the Kansas City area raise our
regionsbiomedical profile, thereby spawning moreresearch and
increasing the likelihood ofimportant discoveries occurring in
KansasCity labs.It would be nearly impossible to detailall of the
biosciences-related research anddevelopment activities that are
happeningin the area in just these few pages, but hereis a
sampling:Cancer SurvivorshipTraining Inc.Jennifer Klemp, who is a
researcher at theUniversity of Kansas Medical Center, wantedto
start a company that would develop onlinecurriculum for health care
professionals whomanage care for cancer survivors. She appliedin
January 2011 to the National CancerInstitute for a grant to make
that happen.The answer? A resounding no.They told me I was overly
ambitious,Klemp says. And I said, All right! Ill takethat on.Klemp
had obtained financial supportfrom Back in the Swing, a local
nonprofitorganization, but more was needed. To movethe dial
forward, she and her colleaguesformed a corporation and signed a
licensingagreement with KU in January.The license agreement with KU
allows me,as an employee, to use my intellectual propertyto build
something that also has commercialvalue, says Klemp, the companys
CEO.KUs an investor in the business. It allows usto take great
things that are happening at KUand [use them] in this
business.Klemp also received Kansas Angel TaxCredits geared toward
startup technologycompanies. The credits allow investors toget back
50 percent of their investmentswith a limit of $50,000. This has
been avery helpful tool for us getting investors,she says. Were
raising $500,000, andwere about two-thirds of the way there.Cancer
Survivorship Training is basedin Prairie Village. Klemps partners
in thecompany are Rob Bykowski, presidentand chief operating
officer, and WilliamBrunkhardt, chief technology strategist.Klemp
has performed research at the KULawrence campus and at the KU
MedicalCenter in Kansas City, Kansas. According toKU, Klemp
recently published research on aOne-third of the $19 billion global
gross sales of the animalhealth industry emanate from companies
that have a presencein the KC Animal Health Corridor. This
represents 20,000 jobsat about 220 companies in the region.Kimberly
Young, vice president of bioscience developmentfor the KCADCrelated
readingi n s i g ht, i n n o vat i o n & i n s p i r at i o n
37
national needs assessment, in a partnershipwith the National
Oncology Nursing Society,to evaluate both the extent and the type
ofsurvivorship care being delivered to patients,as well as the
educational needs of the healthcare providers.Klemp sees a great
need for what shesoffering. By 2020 there are going to be 18million
cancer survivors in the United States,she says. They are [seen and
treated] inevery type of medical practice,
includingendocrinologists and internal medicinedoctors and
cardiologists. If all of these folksdont understand some basics on
cancersurvivors, then they are going to be at adeficit when caring
for those patients.To prevent such deficits from occurring,Cancer
Survivor Training will provide toolsfor activities such as patient
assessment andcare coordination.How far does Klemp want to take
herbusiness? We can handle as much volumeas we can get, she says.
We are going tolicense it to organizations and universities.We are
also going to sell [training] courses toindividual users. The
platform can be usedin any health care space (not just cancer
orsurvivorship). You can build anything youwant into that
framework.Klemp says that researchers who want tofollow a path
similar to hers should knowthat there are opportunities for funding
outthere. There are creative ways to get funding.It is our
responsibility to take grant andphilanthropic dollars and leverage
them to thenext step. And its very important to look tothe business
community for collaboration.And in all of these, keep an open
mind.Also crucial is the willingness to work aspart of a team,
Klemp says, and to thinkoutside the box. Businesses dont have to
bejust a medical device or drug therapy. Thereare lots of ways we
can take things to thenext level.KC Animal Health CorridorKansas
City can no longer lay claim toa major stockyards, but agribusiness
isbooming here.Area civic and business leaders realizeda few years
ago that a corridor stretchingfrom Columbia, Missouri, to
Manhattan,Kansas, was becoming the hub of one ofthe worlds top
centers for animal healthenterprises. To leverage that
expertise,they established the KC Animal HealthCorridor in 2006.
The Kansas City AreaDevelopment Council (KCADC), GreaterKansas City
Chamber of Commerce andKansas City Area Life Sciences Instituteled
the initiative.Major players in the regions animal healthfield
include Bayer HealthCare AnimalHealth, Boehringer Ingelheim
Vetmedica,Hills Pet Nutrition and CEVA Biomune.One-third of the $19
billion global grosssales of the animal health industry emanatefrom
companies that have a presence in theKansas City Animal Health
Corridor, saysKimberly Young, who is vice president ofbioscience
development for the KCADC.This represents 20,000 jobs at about
220companies in the region.The goals of the KC Animal Health
Corridorare retaining the companies that are alreadyhere,
recruiting companies to move here andgrowing the animal health
research base inthe region.The Animal Health Corridor has
thrivedeven amid challenging economic times, Youngsays. Since the
start of the effort, 22 companieshave moved here, she says. Theyve
createdalmost 1,300 jobs and $1 billion in newinvestment. Thats
very significant.Young cites last years announcement thatArgenta, a
global provider of drug developmentservices and contract-product
manufacturingfor the animal health industry, had decided tolocate a
new lab facility and office in Lawrence.The move created 27 new
jobs along with aninvestment of $500,000 in purchasing
newlaboratory equipment.That was a nice win and investment forthem
to come here and create those high-payingjobs, she says.Young says
the Animal Health Corridorbenefits from 14 bioscience incubators
inthe region that provide crucial assistanceand resources to
early-stage companies.Many of the incubators are connectedwith
universities.Another strong point along the Corridoris the Center
for Animal Health Innovationin Olathe. The Center provides
early-stageproof-of-concept funding.One major focus of the Center
is trying toidentify the next big idea in the animal healtharea, as
far as research goes, that has thepotential to become a commercial
product,saysJeffreyBoily,CEOoftheCenterforAnimalHealth Innovation.
Its all about identifyinginnovative, early-stage research that
addressesunmet needs in the animal health industry.Young says that
the Corridor will hold itsfourth annual investment forum at the
endof August. Thats venture capital fundingwith a $5 million to $20
million target, shesays. It is getting ideas off the ground,
ideasthat havent had clinical trials yet. Its helpingBy having
these things like Stowers, the [Animal Health]Corridor, the Kansas
Bioscience Authority and the CancerCenter effort, those cause
people to look at Kansas Cityand say Wow, theres something really
good going on in thisarea. Maybe I need to go visit. Maybe I want
to collaborate.Maybe I want to establish a presence in that
region.Dan Getman, president and CEO, Kansas City AreaLife Sciences
Institute38 K C B u si n ess | K C B C e n t r al . com
support that pipeline from the idea stage to acompany setting
up and commercializing.The concentration of companies here andthe
attention and support they receive attractother animal health
companies, Young notes.Companies on the outside want tocome here
and benefit from that, she says.Theres no other place in the world
that hasthis concentration and singular focus onanimal health that
theyre going to find here.Aratana TherapeuticsAratana, a Kansas
City, Kansas-basedcompany that develops medicines forcompanion
animals, was founded in 2010by MPM Capital, Avalon Ventures,
theKansas Bioscience Authority, CultivianVentures and RaQualia
Pharma.After we licensed two new compoundsas innovative new
medicines for dogs andcats, we settled the company in Kansas to
bepart of the Animal Health Corridor becausethere are opportunities
here for us to makeconnections with animal health companies,says
Linda Rhodes, CEO.After approximately nine months, theoriginal
investors wanted to raise moremoney. We went out to the super
angelcommunity in the Kansas City area, as wellas across the
country, Rhodes says. Wehad a very successful completion of a
SeriesB [round of preferred stock] and raisedan additional $15.5
million. We did it in twoclosings to take advantage of tax credits
forboth 2011 and 2012.An angel investor is an individualor group
that provides capital to startupcompanies but does not become a
partner.Theyre rarely involved in management, butangel investors
typically add value throughtheir contacts and expertise.One of the
new angel investors in Aratanais the Womens Capital Connection,
which isbased in Lenexa and was founded in 2008with 32 investors
committed to investing inwomen-led ventures in our region.Other
investors in the Aratana Series Bround included the Mid-America
Angelsand the Kauffman Foundation, along withindividual
investors.The local community understood what wewere trying to do
as a company, Rhodes says.We are creating innovative new
medicinesfor companion animals. As pets have becomemore a part of
our families, most people whoheard our story have pets or know
people whohave pets. They understood that pets need tohave
innovative new medicines, and peopleare willing to spend the money
to supportthe medical care of their dogs and cats.Rhodes says that
the three ingredientsthat are necessary in order to fundraise inthe
biomedicine and technology world aremarket opportunity, robust
technology andthe right management team.You can have a great
technology, but ifyou dont have the people who know howto bring it
forward in a cost-effective way,the company may not be as
successful as itotherwise could be, Rhodes says. Werevery fortunate
in that we have a very strongteam and some great technology.Rhodes
adds that she and her colleaguesare grateful for the support they
got from thecommunity. We want to get our message outthere that
were a pioneering company doingfor animal health what the human
biotechsdid for human health.Saint Lukes Mid AmericaHeart
InstituteAbout 300,000 Americans suffer fromsevere aortic valve
stenosis, an abnormalnarrowing of the aortic valve in the
heart.They often develop symptoms that restrictactivities such as
climbing stairs or evenwalking a short distance.Many of those
patients are deemed toohigh-risk for conventional aortic
valvereplacement surgery because of advancedage or other medical
conditions.Some researchers at Saint Lukes MidAmerica Heart
Institute in Kansas City havebeen participating in national trials
in orderto evaluate whether a collapsible replacementvalve could be
inserted into such patients viacatheter through a small incision in
the groinor between the ribs.Weve been involved in this procedure
formore than two years, says Dr. Keith Allen,director of
cardiothoracic clinical research atthe Institute. The only valve
thats approvedby the FDA is the one that we currently arestudying.
It is approved for use in veryspecific patients.Saint Lukes was one
of 22 medical centersin the country initially selected for the
trialby Edwards Lifesciences, a California-basedmedical device
company funding the research.Its a select group of hospitals that
werechosen because of their expertise and nationaland international
reputations, Allen says.How does a hospital make the cut for
suchresearch projects?You have to have the infrastructure todo the
research, which obviously the HeartInstitute has, Allen says. You
need to havea collaborative process, particularly in the fieldof
cardiac disease. The mantra now is toutilize a team approach.
Things have becomeso complex that its important for the
surgeons,the medical doctors and the cardiologists all towork
together very collaboratively.When I first started in 2001 as an
entrepreneur, you couldlegitimately complain that there were not
enough resourcesin the region to do the kinds of companies that I
wantedto do. But I think now the onus is on the entrepreneursto
make good.Nicholas Franano, president and CEO, Novita
Therapeuticsin s i g h t, inno vation & in s p i r ation
41
Allen says Saint Lukes participation inthese kinds of trials
has had and will havetremendous impact on raising Kansas
Citysprofile in the life science research community.The Heart
Institute already has an internationalreputation. I think that it
is not alwaysappreciated by the Kansas City community.Im not sure
theyre aware of the depth ofresearch that goes on at the Heart
Institute.Dr. David Cohen, director of cardiovascularresearch at
the Heart Institute, says hemoved here from Boston five years
agobecause the Mid America Heart Institutehad a reputation for
outstanding clinical work.The collaborative heart team concept
hasbeen a very big outgrowth from this program,he says. A lot of
the advances that are comingin cardiovascular medicine are going to
comefrom these collaborative efforts.Cohen says his area of
research isknown as health economics and technologyassessment. His
program is one of onlyfour in the entire country.As everyone is
aware, we have majoreconomic challenges with health care inthe
United States, he says. One of ourcentral missions in my research
programis to understand new technologies as theymature and develop.
What is the cost ofdelivering those treatments? What is thecost
effectiveness? Who are the right patientsto get these
treatments?Cohen says he studied cost effectiveness aspart of the
heart valve trials, and Saint Lukesalso performs cost effectiveness
studies ona third-party basis. We have five or sixresearch grants
currently from NIH to do thiskind of work, he says.Childrens Mercy
Hospitalsand ClinicsDr. Stephen Kingsmore, director of theCenter
for Pediatric Genomic Medicine atChildrens Mercy Hospitals and
Clinics,moved his research team here from theNational Center for
Genome Resources inSanta Fe, N.M., in 2011.There are many childrens
hospitalsaround the United States, but ChildrensMercy appealed to
Kingsmore.They really wanted us, Kingsmore says.And they had a
vision that was very similarto ours. Childrens Mercy has been
focusingon personalized medicine for quite a whilenow. Decoding
genomes is a way to do that.We toured the city and came back a
coupleof times. At the end of the day, ChildrensMercy just said
Look, were going to coverthe cost of this. Come here. We had been
goingaround the States for 18 months to differentlocations to find
the right place to put this.We decided this was the right
place.Genomic medicine focuses on the role thatDNA mutations play
in causing diseases.There are more than 7,000 different
diseasesthat are caused by mutations at specific placesin the
genome code, Kingsmore says. Theyaffect 3 percent to 4 percent of
children, andthey cause about 15 percent of hospitaladmissions to
places like Childrens MercyHospital. They are responsible for about
20percent of deaths of newborns.Kingsmores team has developed a
test todiagnose more than 600 severe childhooddiseases. Up until
today, the way you weretested for these types of diseases was one
at atime, he says. Some of the tests were very,very expensive,
maybe as much as $3,500 atest. It costs us about $750 to do
so.Childrens Mercy has established the Centerfor Pediatric Genomic
Medicine to pursuethe goal of transforming childrens
medicinethrough genomic interpretation.Test development costs $1
million or so,Kingsmore says. But building a genomecenter in a
childrens hospitalthats a $10million expense. Were doing everything
inour power to raise funds for it, like applyingfor government
grants and reaching out toprivate donors in the Kansas City area.
Wehad our first success, a significant donationfrom the Marion
Merrell Dow Foundation,in December.In addition, Kingsmore and his
colleagueshave received several million dollars in NIHgrants for
genomic medicine research sincearriving at Childrens Mercy. The
test is justthe appetizer, he says. Theres a full mealto follow
here. This is something thats goingto take us several years to
implement, and itsgoing to eventually transform medicine
foreverybody in the United States. We want tobe a pioneer in this
area.The genomic research taking place atChildrens Mercy is raising
the profile ofKansas City in terms of innovative medicine,Kingsmore
adds.We are having senior executives ofcompanies fly in to see what
were doing, hesays. For companies already here, we hopethis will be
a significant development for them.My hope is that they will catch
the vision ofgenomic medicine and will want to drive theirgrowth in
the Kansas City region by partneringwith us. Once we start doing
that, youllstart to see the venture capital moneycome
here.Translational research is the kind of initiative, like
TheWorlds Animal Health Symposium, that has the potentialto create
an enormous number of jobs and economic growthfor our region. These
tend to be very high-paying jobs.Were talking about bringing a lot
of money, creating a lotof economic stimulus and growth for the
Kansas City region,through the development of both of these.Jim
Heeter, president and CEO,Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commercei
n s i ght, i n n o vat i o n & i n s p i r at i o n 43