News Archives
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Banking on Biotech
The nonprofit Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, near Monsanto's headquarters in Creve Coeur, is conducting basic research on biotech-crop advances that can help humanity.
Copyright © 2004, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, L.L.C. All Rights Reserved.

MU Set to Profit From Drug
The nation’s next "purple pill" just might have a Columbia origin. The Food and Drug Administration could give final approval Tuesday to Rapinex, a fast-acting heartburn drug that was developed at the University of Missouri-Columbia and licensed to pharmaceutical company Santarus Inc. Jeffrey Phillips, a researcher in the MU medical school’s Department of Surgery patented the drug in 1996.
Copyright © 2004, The Columbia Daily Tribune. All Rights Reserved.

MU Students are Conducting Research in Record Numbers
The Life Sciences Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (LS UROP) increases the value of MU’s undergraduate experience. It gives students the chance to experience real research at an early stage in their career—a privilege usually reserved for graduate students. MU students are conducting research in record numbers. More than 400 students participate in undergraduate research every year. In the processes, they are transforming the nature of undergraduate education.
Copyright © 2004 Curators of the University of Missouri. All Rights Reserved.

Florida Universities Cashing in on Science
History shows they've got something to sell. The names Gatorade or Taxol ring a bell? In the past four years, the state's colleges generated $330 million from licensing new technology to firms. "We've got a good story to tell in our universities,'' Gov. Jeb Bush told an international crowd last week in San Francisco during BIO 2004, the biotechnology industry's annual convention.
Copyright © 2004, The Palm Beach Post. All rights reserved.

KCALSI, KCCatalyst Sponsor Development of KC Life Sciences Strategic Plan
At the Life Sciences Institute's Annual Dinner, Richard Seline, head of the Washington, DC-based New Economy Strategies, unveiled preliminary details of a plan that could significantly elevate the bi-state region's life sciences activity. Seline's report -- "The Case for KC Life Sciences and Convergent Technologies" -- is sponsored by KCCatalyst and KCALSI. The report is based on more than 100 in-depth interviews with community and civic leaders in the bi-state region. The full report is expected to be unveiled later this year following completion of strategic plan implementation meetings now underway with bi-state community leaders.
Reprinted from KCCatalystConnections an e-newsletter for the greater Kansas City bi-state region

Boeing to Invest $1 billion of Pension Fund with Emerging Firms
The Boeing Co. said Wednesday it will allocate $1 billion in its pension fund to emerging investment managers. The Boeing Prime Opportunities Fund will complement its existing pension fund investments by include exposure to smaller investment managers, the company said.
Copyright © 2004, American City Business Journals Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Inc.com's 2005 Entrepreneur of the Year Contest is Taking Entries
The winner will be an entrepreneur whose "incredible drive, acumen, creativity, and vision" have helped his or her business, employees' lives and/or the community at large. Inc.'s goal is to recognize this person and share the entrepreneur's accomplishments so others may be inspired. The 2004 Entrepreneurs of the Year, Janie and Victor Tsao, turned their home-based, computer networking company, Linksys, into a powerhouse that was purchased by Cisco in 2003 for $500 million in stock. This year's winner will be the subject of a January 2005 cover story in Inc. magazine. The deadline for entries is Aug. 31, 2004. For more information or to apply, visit http://www.inc.com/entrepreneur.

Foreign 'Brain Drain' Costs U.S. Companies
Foreign-born students earned nearly two-thirds of the doctoral degrees awarded in engineering in 2002 at the six major Missouri and Kansas universities. “We have a serious shortage and lack of expertise in the American work force for high-tech jobs,” said Lawrence Meyer, a spokesman for the coalition Compete America.
Copyright © 2004, Kansas City Star and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.

Grant-Writing Network Help Grow MU's Research Effort
About seven years ago, MU took the lead among major research institutions nationwide in hiring and training a team of grant-writing specialists to help develop the type of high-quality grant proposals that will attract more and better external awards. Since then, the number of specialists has grown to 10. And they are proving to be a valuable tool, especially in enabling investigators generate proposals for larger awards, says Mary Licklider, director of the Office of Research's grant-writing and publications office. In fiscal year 2003, for instance, the grant writers supported more than 100 proposals requesting more than $89 million.
Reprinted from Mizzou Weekly, the faculty/staff newspaper at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

UMKC, KU, BioMed Valley Corp. Consider Partnerships
Tech transfer may become quicker and easier for professors at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and the University of Kansas in coming decades if UMKC and KU join with BioMed Valley Corp. BioMed Valley was created by the Stowers Institute for Medical Research to commercialize developmental biology discoveries and put the profits back into research at Stowers. And at KU and UMKC — if they join.
Copyright © 2004, Kansas City Star and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.

Battelle Memorial Institute and Milken Institute Released Reports at the Biotechnology Industry Organization Annual Convention
Two studies released Monday show that when it comes to state and regional efforts to grow biotech businesses, it's easy to identify the players but much harder to know the score. Both studies outlined important criteria for areas that want to succeed in this industry: They need supportive policies, economic development incentives, a skilled work force, a rich research base, venture capital, infrastructure and an entrepreneurial spirit. States or regions also need to be organized in their efforts, said Walter Plosila, author of the new Battelle study. Public and private efforts should be coordinated.
Copyright © 2004, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, L.L.C. All Rights Reserved.

A Big Push for Life Sciences
“There are individuals and/or organizations now present in the greater Kansas City region who have global and national prominence,” said Richard Seline, founder of Washington-based New Economy Strategies. “And those individuals or organizations, once organized, could propel the region forward in less than 18 months.”
Copyright © 2004, Kansas City Star and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.

UM President Elson Floyd Briefed Curators on a New Strategic Plan for the University. Detailed Implementation to be Developed Summer 2004
In addition to the University's mission to foster innovation to support economic development, the strategic plan states that the University of Missouri is committed to partnerships, cooperation, and collaboration; should become a national leader in life science research; should promote innovation and economic development through public-private partnerships; and should secure $300 million in external research funding annually.
Copyright © 2003-2004, The Curators of the University of Missouri

[St. Louis] RCGA Seeks Angels to Lift Startups
St. Louis has a few rich, well-educated investors who are willing to risk capital on early-stage high-tech and biotech companies, but it needs more, according to a survey released Thursday by the Technology Gateway Council.
Copyright © 2004, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, L.L.C. All Rights Reserved.

Small-Business Owners Need Supply of Emotional Capital
The truth is, success will be determined by an entrepreneur's ability to roll with the punches, defy the odds and rise from the ashes. Emotionally strong entrepreneurs endure business ownership by acknowledging the roller coaster of emotions and using that knowledge to turn negatives (disappointments) into positives (learning opportunities). Entrepreneurs need to know that forward thinking is the key to emotional strength. Business disappointments must be viewed as rehearsals for the next attempt, which, of course, considering what they have already learned from disappointment, will be successful.
Copyright © 2004, Kansas City Star and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.

Monsanto Sees Joint Effort Producing the Super Pig
Monsanto, based in Creve Coeur, has paid an undisclosed amount of money for exclusive access to a map of the swine genome developed by MetaMorphix, which is based in Savage, Md.
Copyright © 2004, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, L.L.C. All Rights Reserved.

Google Shows How Schools [Universities] Turn Research Into Big Bucks
Stanford University, where Google began, could sock away $250 million from stock it owns in the online search engine giant. That could be a record for a university profiting from a campus start-up. Stanford has long benefited from its role as the tech industry's crucible. The Silicon Valley university has helped spawn 1,200 tech and other start-ups, including Hewlett-Packard, Yahoo and eBay. It earned $50.2 million in royalties from technology licensed to Google and other companies in 2002 — fifth among U.S. schools, the latest data show. No. 1: Columbia University.
Copyright © 2004, USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc. All Rights Reserved.

MU Wins Kauffman Foundation Entrepreneurship Grant
MU has been selected as a recipient of a 2004 Kauffman Collegiate Network grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation in Kansas City to develop and pilot entrepreneurship initiatives. The Kauffman Foundation is the largest foundation in the U.S. focusing on entrepreneurship. The MU proposal titled, "Enhancing Student Entrepreneurship," will launch a sustained initiative to ensure that students throughout MU have opportunities to learn about the potential and the fundamentals of entrepreneurship.

At MU, Biotech Focus on Dollars
Biodegradable plastic, like other discoveries at the University of Missouri-Columbia, might eventually bring the university "considerable financial returns," said Professor Doug Randall, a lead researcher who has worked five years on the project. But the problem with this and other MU biotechnology research is that bringing it to market requires that multiple steps in the creation process be patented first - at a cost of tens of thousands of dollars each. The biodegradable-plastic idea will need 17 patents to be marketable, Randall said.
Copyright © 2004, The Columbia Daily Tribune. All Rights Reserved.

VA Hospital Opens New High-Tech Lab
Two years ago, the lowest level of Truman Memorial Veterans Hospital was an unfinished basement with dirt floors. Today, a $7 million state-of-the-art laboratory fills the space, and researchers say two recent deliveries put the lab at the forefront of cancer research technology. The VA Biomolecular Imaging Center, funded with $3.9 million from the 2000 VA appropriations bill, centers around four pieces of molecular imaging equipment used to study body systems and anatomy and diagnose disease.
Copyright © 2004, The Columbia Daily Tribune. All Rights Reserved.

Stereotaxis Files for IPO
Stereotaxis, a medical equipment company headquartered at the Center for Emerging Technologies in St. Louis, has filed to raise $115 million in an initial public stock offering. Many St. Louis-based investors -- including A.G. Edwards, Advantage Capital, Ascension Health Ventures, BJC Health System, Emerson, Gateway Venture Partners, Oakwood Investors, Prolog Ventures and Stifel Nicolaus -- were among the early backers of Stereotaxis.
Copyright © 2004, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, L.L.C. All Rights Reserved.

MU Alum Takes Degree to California
Dave Holt, president of Lightspeed in Silicon Valley, has developed a new way to build semiconductors. Lightspeed is part of Silicon Valley — the “high-tech Mecca,” as Holt describes it. But he isn’t a California boy. Holt is a Columbia native and an MU engineering graduate. He came back to MU in April to speak to different business-focused student groups on campus, including the MU Entrepreneurs’ Group.
Copyright © 2004, Columbia Missourian. All Rights Reserved.

Life-Science IPO Might be Just What the Doctor Ordered
Stereotaxis wants to raise $115 million. If it's successful, it will make a lot of money for the local investors who were its early backers. The company didn't specify a share price for the offering, but it's likely to be much higher than the $2.17 a share that venture capitalists paid to invest in 2001 or the $2.93 a share they paid in January and February, when Stereotaxis raised its latest round of financing.
Copyright © 2004, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, L.L.C. All Rights Reserved.

KC Area Universities Part of National Life Sciences Entrepreneurship Consortium
Several leading research universities in Kansas City's bi-state region are members of a small but influential association called the National Consortium for Life Sciences Entrepreneurship (NCLSE). Based at the University of South Florida and sponsored by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the NCLSE's membership (roughly 20 universities) includes the University of Missouri-Kansas City, the University of Kansas, Washington University in St. Louis, and Rockhurst University. The NCLSE's mission is to be a "catalyst for life sciences entrepreneurship in America" and works to: develop and train leaders in life sciences and entrepreneurship; foster collaboration among the consortium's members in life sciences and entrepreneurship education; develop innovative life sciences and entrepreneurship curriculum; and foster a national climate for life sciences commercialization.

UMR Wins $7.3 Million Federal Contract
The University of Missouri-Rolla has won the largest federal contract in its history, $7.3 million to develop "critical" aerospace technologies in partnership with the Boeing Co.
Copyright © 2004, The Columbia Daily Tribune. All Rights Reserved.

KC-Bound Tech Firm Receives Big Legal Boost
Dennis Blaeuer, a University of Missouri graduate, founded Smart Media in 1996. The company has developed a bar code scanner and touch screen device called SnapShopper. The device, which is affixed to grocery carts, allows shoppers to self-scan their groceries, print instant coupons and speed up the checkout process. Recently, an Ohio court entered a $212 million judgment in favor of his upstart Washington, D.C.-based technology company, which he plans to move to Kansas City.
Copyright © 2004, Kansas City Star and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.

Bartle Stakes His Political Life on Cloning Issue
State Sen. Matt Bartle, R-Lee's Summit, said his opposition to one procedure -- somatic nuclear cell transfer -- may mean death for his political career. Scientists and economic development officials said his opposition may mean death for Missouri's burgeoning life sciences industry. "Because he insists on attaching his controversial amendment to anything with the (term) 'life sciences' in it, including bills that have nothing to do with his topic, he ... holds back the progress of the state," said Donn Rubin, executive director of the Coalition for Plant and Life Sciences in St. Louis.
Copyright © 2004, American City Business Journals Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Miracle In the Midwest: How Madison, Wis. Became A Hotbed Of Biocapitalism
This hotbed of radicalism has grown into a seedbed of biocapitalism, propelling the region to the number one slot on our list of Best Places for Business and Careers. Scientists are developing artificial skin (at a company called Stratatech), vitamin D therapies for patients with chronic kidney disease (Bone Care International) and proteins that inhibit cancer-cell development (Quintessence Biosciences). Such biotech ventures cluster around the university and nearby Milwaukee, home of the Medical College of Wisconsin and a unit of GE Healthcare (2003 revenues: $10 billion), which acquired Lunar, a Madison maker of bone densitometers and ultrasound equipment, in 2000. Some 120 technology companies employing 8,000 people have sprung up in Madison during the past decade. Average annual salary: $60,000.
Copyright © 2004, Forbes.com Inc., All Rights Reserved.

Venture Capitalists Plan to Take a Flier on Flyover Country
For those of us in flyover country, it's nice to hear someone make a case for investing in businesses here as opposed to the overpriced coasts. It's even better when that case is stated by prominent venture capitalists from Boston and San Francisco. What's more, these folks are offering much more than platitudes: They plan to put money to work in St. Louis.
Copyright © 2004, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, L.L.C. All Rights Reserved.

Study Looks at 'Accelerator' for Alliant Lake City Army Ammunition Plant in Independence, MO
An accelerator is similar to an incubator where businesses can get help to speed their time to market, establish a sound operational foundation and increase their access to capital, the center said in a written release Wednesday. An accelerator also brings technologies that haven't been commercialized to companies that use them to create and manufacture new products.
Copyright © 2004, American City Business Journals Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Biotech Venturers Like Spirit in St. Louis
Biotech investors from the coasts converged on St. Louis this week for the three-day BIO Mid-America Venture Forum, a conference of about 400 entrepreneurs, investors, corporate leaders and civic leaders hoping to meet and make deals. For some, it was a rare stop in a geographic zone they typically fly over. But most said they saw plenty of reasons to return.
Copyright © 2004, St Louis Post-Dispatch, L.L.C. All Rights Reserved.

VC Pace is on Rise
Venture capital investment in the Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island region was up 11 percent in the first quarter from fourth-quarter 2003 and, if it stays at the current pace, could exceed $3 billion for the year, according to a report last week by Growth Advisors of Waltham. A $3 billion year would mean a 50 percent jump in venture capital invested over 2003, the First Quarter Emerging Business Report said. Much of the investment is going to later-stage companies, as venture investors eye potential exits, either through mergers or initial public offerings, the report said. Although mergers and acquisitions far outnumber IPOs, VCs are focusing their attention on portfolio companies that can bring them financial returns sooner, rather than later.
Copyright © 2004, American City Business Journals, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Biotech Boosting Venture Capital
U.S. venture capital funding is up once again, and the increase is entirely due to one industry: biotech. Venture capitalists invested about $5 billion into start-ups nationwide last quarter, the most in almost two years, according to a survey to be released today by Ernst & Young and Venture One. That's up from about $4.8 billion the quarter before.
Copyright © 2004, Kansas City Star and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.

Sortino to Take Reins at Danforth Foundation Jan. 1
The St. Louis-based Danforth Foundation now awards the majority of its assets to the growth of the area's plant and life sciences. It is one of the largest foundations in St. Louis and awarded $41.9 million in grants and gifts in 2002.
Copyright © 2004, American City Business Journals Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Exporting Conference Connects Local Firms with Foreign Customers
This event offers networking opportunities with international firms and government representatives from countries like India, China and Mexico. Interest is running a bit higher than usual in an annual exporting conference to be held in St. Louis this May with nearly two dozen nations participating. More than 350 businesses and individuals have signed up to attend "Global Solutions for Business Growth: Money, Marketing and Management" during World Trade Month. The event will be May 20 at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Clayton.
Copyright © 2004, St Louis Post-Dispatch, L.L.C. All Rights Reserved.

Is It the End of Startup Funds?
In the past 15 years, funds under management at a typical venture capital firm have more than quadrupled, while the numbers of professionals managing them has grown much more slowly. This phenomenon, called "capital concentration" has dramatically altered the structure of the VC industry, shifting the core focus of VC managers away from picking promising young companies and helping them get out of the blocks to accelerating the growth of those which have already been validated by the marketplace. Optimal total capital per deal has roughly doubled -- from between $3 million and $4 million to between $7 million and $8 million -- since 1995. Deal sizes smaller than that don't provide the return on investment for the management time they require.
Copyright © 2004, American City Business Journals, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Distinguishing Between Angels, Venture Firms
Q. What is the difference between a venture capitalist and an angel investor?
A. An angel investor is a common term for a private investor who holds an equity interest in an early-stage venture. They are typically people the entrepreneur knows or has met through business relationships. Venture capitalists are professional groups or private investors who invest in early-stage and growing businesses. Venture capitalists generally do not get involved in initial funding, but prefer second-stage or buyout funding.
Copyright © 2004, Kansas City Star and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.

KC Life Sciences Leaders Help Craft New Plan to Move Area Forward
Hundreds of Kansas City-area civic, business and education leaders, along with scientists and entrepreneurs, are helping create a new strategic plan for Kansas City's life sciences future. The plan, to be unveiled in about two months, will identify a small group of opportunities in which Kansas City might differentiate itself from other cities that also are trying to win in the life sciences game.

Illinois Governor Wants to Create $200M Venture Capital Fund
Governor Rod Blagojevich wants to create a $200 million pot of money for all the big dreamers out there. Amy Chase, writing for the Chicago Sun Times, reports that pending in the General Assembly is a bill that would create a $200 million fund to invest in Illinois venture capital funds and other financial entities, which would in turn provide money to start-up companies with headquarters in Illinois or that have "a meaningful presence" in the state.

KS Governor Signs Landmark Biosciences Bill Into Law
Landmark legislation to promote the growth of life sciences research and entrepreneurship in Kansas was signed into law last week by Governor Kathleen Sebelius (D-KS). The Kansas Economic Growth Act is a comprehensive approach to elevate Kansas's life sciences-focused activity and foster economic growth in the state's rural areas and small towns. The measure's key provisions include a $500 million Bioscience Authority and Emerging Industry Investment Fund (which is expected to create roughly 20,000 life-sciences jobs); creation of an Angel Investor Tax Credit Program to spur investment in early-stage growth companies; and formation of the Kansas Center for Entrepreneurship and the Kansas Community Entrepreneurship Fund.

MU Life Sciences Week 2004 Hosts First Bio-Entrepreneurship Panel
"Entrepreneurship: An Alternative to Traditional Licensing" was the subject for the first bio-entrepreneurship panel held on April 6th as part of MU Life Sciences Week. A stellar group of panelists discussed the history of several Missouri-based life science companies that were successfully founded by scientists from academia. The purpose of the panel was to illustrate to MU faculty that it is possible, albeit extraordinarily challenging, to found companies based on university-based research. The founders and/or their business partners provided a fascinating look into the histories of IMMVAC, Inc. (Columbia, MO), Megan Health, Inc. (St. Louis, MO), APT Therapeutics, Inc. (St. Louis, MO), Chlorogen, Inc. (St. Louis, MO), MO-SCI Corporation (Rolla, MO) and Pet Healthcare International, Inc. (Columbia, MO). Click here for more information about these companies.

RiverVest Venture Partners' Tom Melzer Keynotes 2004 UM Technology Transfer Showcase
Thomas C. Melzer, Managing Director of St. Louis-based RiverVest Venture Partners delivered the keynote address at the 2004 UM Technology Transfer Showcase held on April 6, 2004 at the MU campus in Columbia. His address, titled "From Bench to Bedside," featured his insights into life sciences-based venture capital investing and the role of the scientific founder of a startup company.

UMSL's Zhi Xu Wins 2004 Entrepreneur-of-the-Year Award
Dr. Zhi Xu, Associate Professor of Chemistry at UMSL, received the 2004 Entrepreneur-of-the-Year Award from UM President Elson Floyd at the April 6th Technology Transfer Showcase. Dr. Xu's work focuses on optical spectroscopy, which measures the emission and absorption of light, and has applications in many fields.

St. Louis Startups Could be Planting the Biggest Ideas
This week is a coming-out party of sorts for the St. Louis life-sciences industry. The Biotechnology Industry Association, known as BIO, is bringing its BIO Mid-America VentureForum to the Chase Park Plaza Hotel. The event, which starts Monday, May 3rd, gives 65 promising companies the chance to seek money from venture capitalists. Last year's forum in Chicago drew 400 people, including investors from the East and West Coasts. Seventeen of the presenting companies - more than a quarter - are based in St. Louis. And that's not because of a home-field advantage. Applications were sought from companies in 10 states, stretching from Ohio to Colorado, and were vetted by a committee consisting mostly of venture capitalists.
Copyright © 2004, St Louis Post-Dispatch, L.L.C. All Rights Reserved.

State Falls Short in High-Tech Economy, Study Says
Missouri is not as competitive in creating a high-tech economy as it was two years ago despite high-dollar efforts to boost the state’s life science economy, according to a recent study. The state placed 31st among all 50 states, dropping three places since 2002.
Copyright © 2004, The Columbia Daily Tribune. All Rights Reserved.

New Federal Study Profiles MO, KS on Key Science and Tech Indicators
The U.S. Department of Commerce's Technology Administration has released the latest version of its blockbuster report on how states are doing in fostering science and engineering-based economic development. The report, "The Dynamics of Technology-based Economic Development: State Science and Technology Indicators," profiles each of the 50 states on indicators that include federal research grants awarded, venture capital invested, patents issued and percentage of population with advanced degrees in science and engineering. Full profiles of Kansas and Missouri are contained in this report. Missouri is ranked seventh in the nation for IPO funds raised per $1,000 of gross state product. For more, click here: http://www.technology.gov/reports.htm

SLU Student and His Chemistry Adviser May Have the Spark for Something Big
The St. Louis BioGenerator, a newly created seed-capital company, recently invested $400,000 in cash and in-kind services with Akermin, Inc., a St. Louis startup that is developing a technology that will turn any ethanol-based substance like vodka into electricity. Just imagine using some of your martini to power your cell phone or laptop. For more information about the BioGenerator, click here.
Copyright © 2004, St Louis Post-Dispatch, L.L.C. All Rights Reserved.

Downtown Incubator Hopes to Hatch Info-Tech Companies
At one level, the Technology Entrepreneur Center competes with established incubators for funding and clients. But its backers say the center fills an unmet need: a helping hand for promising, but underappreciated, information technology entrepreneurs. The new Technology Entrepreneur Center will open in about a month on half a floor of the Bandwidth Exchange Building, 210 North Tucker Boulevard. The building offers easy access to major telecommunications networks, and the downtown location lets tenants qualify for state tax-credit programs.
Copyright © 2004, St Louis Post-Dispatch, L.L.C. All Rights Reserved.

KC Area Companies Will Pitch Their Ideas to Venture Capitalists
Four Kansas City area companies will be among the 16 Midwestern firms presenting business plans in May at the InvestMidwest Venture Capital Forum. HeadsUp Technology, an Overland Park software company; LaGarde, an Olathe software company; Tech Guys, an Overland Park technology services firm; and Enhance Dental Franchising Inc., an Independence firm that has developed a system for setting up dental practices, will be among the companies featured this year.
Copyright © 2004, Kansas City Star and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.

Jake Halliday, Former CEO of ABC Labs, Hired to Lead the Revitalized Push for Incubator on the MU Campus
After resigning his position at ABC Labs in December, Halliday began dusting off the incubator project, which had stalled for years over lack of funding and lack of committed tenants. Now, he said, the stage is set like never before.

St. Louis BioGenerator Opens Doors for University Startups
With its mission, "To identify promising technologies, test their commercial viability and create new life-sciences companies," the BioGenerator will work closely with the universities' technology transfer offices to identify company concepts with the most potential. The best prospects go to the BioGenerator board for endorsement, then provide funding for such things as proof-of-concept tests, market research and management consultants. Those that pan out likely will apply for space at one of the incubators.

UMSL Plans Business Incubator for Former Hospital
The University of Missouri–St. Louis announced it would use part of the former Normandy Hospital building as an information technology incubator. About 30,000 to 40,000 square feet of the building would house up to 12 start-up businesses. Nasser Arshadi, vice chancellor for research at UMSL, noted that start-up businesses provide about 70 percent of all new jobs on the market.
Copyright © 2004, St Louis Post-Dispatch, L.L.C. All Rights Reserved.

KC's Tech Sector Shows a Pulse
The life signs are still feeble, but there are indications that the Kansas City's area's tech sector is starting to breathe on its own again.
Copyright © 2004, Kansas City Star and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.

Medical Research Dollars Drive Life Sciences
In the wide-ranging life science industry, which lumps together agriculture, engineering, food science, plant science and more, medical research is a major moneymaker. From drug development to medical equipment to lab services, health care affects everyone and often brings big headlines - the perfect recipe for a growing industry seeking intellectual and economic capital.
Copyright © 2004, The Columbia Daily Tribune. All Rights Reserved.

Life Sciences Lure Pledge. More Federal Funds Promised for MU
U.S. Sen. Bob Bennett, a two-term Republican from Utah, promised a sweet treat for MU, saying the US Senate would one day appropriate the $30 million to $35 million needed to build an additional wing onto the still-under-construction life sciences center. "You have my commitment that we’ll see to it you get that money," Bennett said. Bennett, the new chair of the Senate Agricultural Appropriations Subcommittee, and was in Columbia with fellow Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., touring MU.
Copyright © 2004, The Columbia Daily Tribune. All Rights Reserved.

The Kansas House overwhelmingly approved The Bioscience Initiative Act
The Kansas House overwhelmingly approved a measure that supporters said would put Kansas on the cutting edge of bioscience research and create thousands of new jobs. The Bioscience Initiative Act was sent to the Senate on a 119-6 vote. Rep. Kenny Wilk, R-Lansing, chief sponsor of the bill, said it would develop new research facilities, create 20,000 jobs and bring leading scholars to the area. "Furthermore, it transfers their findings from the laboratory to commercial use that will provide higher-quality food, prescription drugs and other products that benefit our lives," Wilk said.

Kansas City Area has Made Strides Into Biotech Industry
The Kansas City region, including suburbs in Kansas, has been working since 1999 to bring in $300 million in life sciences investment by 2010, which it hopes will generate $500 million in annual research spending. There are signs of progress. Research funding in the region from the National Institutes of Health has increased from $104 million in 1999 to an estimated $240 million in 2003. About 155 life sciences companies - ranging from large, established companies such as Cerner Corp. to startups like Laufenberg's - are in an area bounded by Wichita, KS, on the west to Columbia, MO, on the east. About 100 are in the immediate Kansas City region.

St. Louis Biotech Startup Joins with Bristol-Myers Unit
Kereos Inc., a St. Louis-based biotech startup, is partnering with a division of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. to develop new diagnostics and treatments for heart disease and cancer. Kereos, is located in the Center for Emerging Technologies incubator.

New Report Shows How Important Life Sciences Industry is in Missouri
Missouri's life sciences research and commercialization industry accounted for roughly 13.5 percent of the state's economy in 2003, according to the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center (MERIC). In the first half of 2003, MERIC also reports Missouri was home to 2,000 life sciences-focused companies employing 6.8 percent of the state's total workforce. In addition, life sciences-related wages were 24 percent more than the state's overall wage average.

USPTO Releases List of Top 10 Universities Receiving Most Patents in 2003
"American innovation has long set the pace for technological advancement worldwide," said Jon Dudas, Acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property. "Academic researchers, and the inventions they patent, are integral to the progress of the science and technology that strengthen the economy, create new jobs and enhance the health and welfare of all Americans.”

NIH Funds Likelier to Go to Nonhuman Research
Researchers seeking funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are more likely to get grants for nonhuman research than studies of people.
© 2004, ScoutNews, LLC., February 2004, Steven Reinberg

The Money Hunt: Experience Helps Entrepreneur Gain Millions In Venture Capital For Up-And-Coming Firm
Quick Study Radiology has raised over $15 million in venture capital (from 11 different VC firms) over the past four years. Some local investors include: Oakwood Medical Ventures, Gateway Ventures, Capital For Business, a venture fund controlled by A.G. Edwards & Sons, Prolog Ventures, Mississippi Valley Capital and Eagle River Capital.
© St. Louis Small Business Monthly, The Source for Business Owners, January 2004, Ron Ameln

Revised UM System Mission Statement Emphasizes the University's Economic Development Efforts in Missouri
The UM System Board of Curators approved a revised mission statement for the UM System Dec. 11. The board also approved revised mission statements for UM-Columbia and UM-Rolla. UM-Kansas City, UM-St. Louis and University Outreach and Extension had no revisions to their July 24, 1997 board approved statements. In addition to the University's three traditional missions —teaching, research and service — the revised UM System mission statement emphasizes the University's economic development efforts in Missouri.

New Trends Demand New Strategies for Missouri Development
Missouri must spend more on economic development in coming years if it wants to attract the kinds of businesses and jobs that are driving growth in the United States, says Joe Driskill, the outgoing director of the Missouri Department of Economic Development. This story is from Gregory Cancelada in the St. Louis Post Dispatch.

Gov. Holden Announced Plans for His Jobs Now Program This week
Governor Bob Holden wants to phase out three state tax credit programs and use the savings to provide construction funds for local public works projects. Holden announced plans for his Jobs Now program this week. He said he would ask the Legislature to repeal the three tax credit programs while setting up a bond sale mechanism that would fund the construction projects. Jobs Now would be the centerpiece of his 2004 legislative agenda, reports Terry Ganey in the St. Louis Post Dispatch.

MU Program Brings Business and Engineering Students Together to Create New, Marketable Products
Chances are you have never heard of a “handy helper,” a “dynamic dimmer” or even a “lightning cane.” That’s because these products do not currently exist on the market. However, students at the University of Missouri-Columbia are developing these products, and many others, through a unique program combining the forces of the College of Engineering and the College of Business.

Distinguished Professor Becomes Director of New Life Sciences Center
Brady Deaton, provost and executive vice chancellor at the University of Missouri-Columbia, announced that Michael Roberts, distinguished curators professor of animal sciences and a member of the National Academy of Science, has been appointed director of the Life Sciences Center at MU, effective Jan. 1, 2004.