Life science research in Kansas City got a shot in the arm Monday when the Stowers Institute for Medical Research announced it would double its research space in the city within five years.
Jim and Virginia Stowers, who founded the institute in 1994, said they were heartened by efforts in the Kansas and Missouri legislatures to boost life science research at Kansas University and the University of Missouri. That support was a major factor in deciding to expand in Kansas City instead of other biotech hubs, they said.
"Virginia and I have been gratified to witness the efforts of our government leaders in Kansas and Missouri to support growth of excellent life science at both state universities," Jim Stowers said in a prepared statement. "Their actions have reinforced to us that they are as committed as we are to making Kansas City the best place for life science research and discovery development."
Kansas efforts
In Kansas, Rep. Kenny Wilk, R-Lansing, and Sen. Nick Jordan, R-Shawnee, have introduced the Kansas Economic Growth Act, a $500 million, 10-year plan that includes funding for research at KU and tax incentives for investors who choose to support start-up companies in the biotechnology field.
The plan would be funded by new tax dollars collected from life science companies.
Missouri legislators are considering a proposal that would allocate $190 million for life science buildings on the four MU campuses.
The timing of the expansion has not been set, according to a news release issued late Monday by the Stowers Institute. But Bill Neaves, president and CEO, said the institute's board expected to begin construction before the current 600,000-square-foot facility is filled.
"At the present rate of recruitment, the existing buildings of the Stowers Institute campus will be filled within four or five years," Neaves said. "Maintaining our current pace of adding new laboratory leaders will require expansion of the research facility before the end of this decade."
Expansion plans
The institute, which is near the University of Missouri-Kansas City campus, has a $1.6 billion endowment to perform basic research. It currently has 14 research teams, with five to 12 scientists per team.
Stowers officials have said preliminary plans called for a million-square-foot facility that would be built in fourths and house 900 employees. Laurie Wimberly, a Stowers spokeswoman, said Monday night she couldn't discuss whether that was still the plan.
A study by the Kansas City Area Development Council said the economic impact of the facility would be $1.4 billion.
The institute did not say how much the expansion would cost. The current complex was completed in 2000 at a cost of $300 million.
| The Stowers Institute for Medical Research said Monday it would expand in Kansas City. The expansion will double the size of its research facility within five years and is expected to have a $1.4 billion economic impact. |
Stowers officials told state leaders in Kansas and Missouri last year that locating their expansion in the Kansas City area would require a significant investment in life science research at universities in both states. Though that funding hasn't been approved on either side of the state line, Stowers leaders said they were pleased with the efforts.
'Absolutely marvelous'
"What a wonderful statement for Kansas City and for Kansas," said Donald Hagen, executive vice chancellor for the KU Medical Center. "The community has pulled together in ways it never has before."
| Also known as bioscience, life science is any of the branches of natural science dealing with the structure and behavior of living organisms. There may be as many facets to the research as there are species on the planet. The federal government defines life science as any scientific technique that uses living organisms, or parts of living organisms, to manufacture new products. It can involve plants, animals or humans. Most in the scientific community agree the biotechnology industry was born in 1978, when the federal Food and Drug Administration approved a cloned version of insulin for use in diabetic patients. Now, with the average human life expectancy continuing to creep upward, diseases that plague the population and the Silicon Valley technology boom more of a bust, economic prognosticators say life sciences will be the major focus of the economy of the future. |
The Stowers news release said the expansion would be "as close to the existing site as possible," indicating it probably would be on the Missouri side of the state line.
Hagen said it didn't matter to him where the facility was located. Either way, he said, it would give KU more research partners.
"If you build a house and then build a big addition, wouldn't you want to put it nearby?" Hagen said. "There would be some management efficiencies in putting it together. I wouldn't get too hung up on that."
But Wilk, who co-sponsored the Economic Growth Act, said he hadn't given up hope the expansion could be lured to Kansas.
"I'd love to see them, first and foremost, in the region," Wilk said. "But I'd love to see it in Kansas."
He said the Stowers decision was a signal of how important it would be for the Legislature to approve the growth act this session.
"We're working hard on our side of the state line, and this is recognition of those efforts," Wilk said. "Doing this is exactly what they wanted. I certainly don't want us to fall short at this point. This is the time to move the ball across the goal line."
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