Donna Johnson, president of the Lawrence Technology Association, said the Kansas Bioscience Authority was developing a strategy that would be tailored to the needs of the Lawrence community.

Amid a growth of the bioscience industry in Kansas, area businesses hope to tap into state money to fund research, equipment and other operating costs.

Thomas Thornton, president and chief executive officer of the Kansas Bioscience Authority, met in mid-January with members of the Lawrence Technology Association. Thornton, who has been with the authority for about six months, spoke about how businesses, communities and universities could work with the authority to support biosciences in Lawrence.

Thornton said the authority would work with Kansas University and area businesses to secure funding for research and development. The authority also will work to draw businesses to the Lawrence area by matching federal research grants and by offering research vouchers, which would benefit the university as well as businesses, he said. The vouchers, which are available to companies based in Kansas, pair a company with a research university.

“Many of the companies we work with are eager to develop relationships with research institutions,” Thornton said.

Donna Johnson, president of the Lawrence Technology Association, said she was encouraged by the authority’s commitment to Lawrence. She said the authority was in the process of developing a strategy that would be tailored to the needs of the Lawrence community.

“I think there is a lot of potential there,” Johnson said.

She said the authority’s ability to match federal grant dollars, such as those for small businesses, could help the area.

Kevin Boatright, director of research communications at KU, said the authority recognizes the integral role KU could play in developing biosciences in Kansas. KU is responsible for about 70 percent of the research that is conducted in Kansas, Boatright said.

“The authority has a tremendous mandate and the funding to go with that mandate,” Boatright said.

The authority, which was created as part of the Kansas Economic Growth Act in 2004, possesses $500 million during the next 10-12 years to fund bioscience research, development and advocacy in Kansas.

Lanaea Heine, who represents KU’s Higuchi Biosciences Center at the Lawrence Technology Association, also sees positive consequences ahead for the area.

“I am enthusiastic about what the authority can provide to the bioscience initiative,” Heine said.

The authority will work with KU to identify early-stage bioscience technology that could lead to business ventures, although KU has been successful in creating startup companies, Thornton said.

Sam Campbell, president of CritiTech Inc., a spinoff company from Higuchi, said the company already had received vital funding from the authority. In 2006, the company received a grant for about $48,000 for equipment.

“The grant came at a very important time for us,” Campbell said. “They (the authority) are an extremely valuable asset to the state.”