KU Cancer Center, Lenexa company benefit from Bioscience Authority funding

The University of Kansas Cancer Center in Fairway became the recipient of $1.8 million from the Kansas Bioscience Authority Tuesday to be used for cancer research.

The fund was part of the $4.4 million the Authority approved to be used for animal health, human health and bioenergy research as a way to help spark economic growth in the state, according to the Authority’s board president and former Gov. John Carlin. During a press conference on the Senate floor in Topeka, he said the state needed a broader economy in order to compete with similar research facilities throughout the country.

One goal of the Authority is to help the KU Cancer Center get its federal designation as a national cancer center in order for it to provide clinical trials that are not now available in the Kansas City area as well as aiding KU to continue to be a leader as a cancer research facility.

In Lenexa, $600,000 went to TVAX Biomedical to help fund a FDA study that would allow a person’s own immune cells to fight brain cancer. Kansas State University received $500,000 targeted to help develop vaccines to treat a viral disease running rampant in swine production.

AGCO, Hesston, received $1.5 million to continue research in the development of economical and reliable delivery of feedstock to cellulosic biorefineries that cold possible become the future component in the biofuel supply chain.

And $50,000 went to ReLive for Kids in Lawrence to supplement a federal grant to explore a headache management system for teenagers.

Tom Thornton, president of the Bioscience Authority, said the Authority’s investments are working and that it’s not longer a question of will these types of investments work in Kansas but rather how successful will the investments become over time. He said the return rate of the Authority’s investments into economic development thus far was garnering a return of $7.59 for each dollar spent.

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