Years of talk about Lawrence’s potential to create a high-paying life sciences industry in collaboration with Kansas University may be turning to action.

A growing Atlanta-based life sciences company said Tuesday that it had chosen Lawrence as the site for a $28 million manufacturing plant that will employ 40 people at an average wage of about $47,000 a year.

Serologicals Corp. said it chose Lawrence over 30 other contenders in large part because of the presence of a major university and “growing life sciences community” in the Kansas City area.

“We have been talking for so long about the life sciences and how we need to better utilize the University of Kansas,” said Kelvin Heck, chairman of the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce. “This is a great example of how we can do that.”

David Dodd, president and chief executive officer of the publicly traded company, said construction would begin early next year on a 12.5-acre site at East Hills Business Park, east of Lawrence along Kansas Highway 10. The plant will be Serological’s second to manufacture a blood product used in creating several drugs, including some used to treat cancer and childhood illnesses.

Skilled workers needed

Such work requires a special type of employee, Dodd said.

“Staffing is always our number one issue,” he said. “What we do is not a simple process. We need a highly-skilled work force.”

Most of the company’s employees have advanced scientific degrees or are pursuing them while they work for Serologicals, he said.

The plant, which will be built just west of the Amarr Garage Door Group plant at East Hills, will produce the company’s largest selling product, EX-CYTE.

EX-CYTE is produced by removing biological agents from the blood of livestock. Dodd said the company limited its site search to the Midwest because of its need to be near the slaughterhouses that provide most of the product’s raw material. Lincoln, Neb., was the other finalist for the facility.

From left, Robert Marcusse, president of Kansas City Area Development Council; Lawrence Mayor Sue Hack; Randi Tveitaraas Jack, international development manager with the Kansas Department of Commerce and Housing Trade Development Division; and Kelvin Heck, Lawrence Chamber of Commerce chairman of the board, respond to news that a Georgia company, Serologicals Corp., has selected Lawrence as the site for its new EX-CYTE manufacturing facility. David Dodd, president and CEO of Serologicals, held a phone conference Tuesday with city, KU and state officials to make the announcement.

Demand for the product has increased by 90 percent in the past year, and Dodd said it has been a major factor in the growth of the company, which has 750 employees worldwide and 2001 sales of about $109 million. In the nine months ended Sept. 29, Serologicals revenue increased 26 percent, reflecting the boom in sales of EX-CYTE.

The plant in Lawrence will be one of two that will manufacture the product. The first plant is in Kankakee, Ill. The new Lawrence plant will have capacity to produce more than 26,000 gallons per year.

Tax breaks sought

Dodd said he hoped the Lawrence plant would open in the first half of 2004. The project must win platting and site plan approval from city commissioners.

Lynn Parman, the chamber’s vice president of economic development, said the company also was expected to file for breaks on property taxes. She said company officials still were formulating their request but said they probably would ask for a 10-year abatement of more than 50 percent.

Under the city’s tax abatement policy, the maximum abatement is based on the total investment made and wages paid, but the Lawrence City Commission has the authority to grant full tax abatement for 10 years.

Parman said she expected city commissioners to consider the company’s request in January.

The company also could qualify for about $60,000 in state tax credits for job creation and as much as $2.8 million in tax credits for capital investment if it meets wage and training requirements, said Steve Kelly, director of business development for the Kansas Department of Commerce & Housing.

Dodd said the 45,000-square-foot plant initially would create 40 full-time jobs but that the company has purchased land to allow expansion.

“We expect to add new products to the plant in the future,” Dodd said. “And we expect to build a company that will require employment levels to grow in Lawrence.”

What it does

Most of the company’s products are based on extracting antibodies from blood plasma. The antibodies are used by Serologicals’ customers to make drugs to treat rabies, immunize against hepatitis and deal with blood Rh incompatibility between a pregnant woman and her fetus. The company also sells cell culture media and animal protein products used in blood typing and diagnostic functions.

Parman said Lawrence economic development officials began wooing Serologicals about six weeks ago after receiving a tip from the Kansas City Area Development Council.

The jobs created will include positions for people with two- and four-year degrees in biology and chemistry, she said.

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“What this company will do is provide career opportunities,” Parman said.

KU officials were involved in recruiting the company and have created a $2,000 annual scholarship that will be given to a biosciences student in the company’s name.

“We’re confident the university will be a primary beneficiary of having a new life sciences firm in Lawrence,” said David Shulenburger, KU provost.

Shulenburger said he anticipated the company would attract additional biosciences students to KU, provide new continuing education opportunities for the university, and the company’s employees would be good candidates to fill additional bioscience faculty positions.

Serologicals stock was up 1 cent Tuesday to close at $11.46 per share on the Nasdaq National Market. In the past year, the stock has traded as low as $7.32 per share and as high as $22.17 per share.