The convergence of animal health, science and business already is present in Lawrence, and its establishment and growth in the city and throughout the Kansas City region is being looked upon as a way to bring even more life-sciences activity to the area.

“In many ways, we have critical mass in this particular sector of bio,” said Pat Flavin, chairman of the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce. “And it validates this general area as a forerunner in bioscience mindedness. We’re every bit as qualified and attractive as any part of the country.”

Identigen Ltd., an Ireland-based company that uses patented DNA technology to track meat from the product’s source to store shelves, established its North American headquarters in July at 4824 Quail Crest Place.

Among the reasons for choosing Lawrence: proximity to Kansas City International Airport, access to scientists at Kansas and Kansas State universities and the ability to recruit and retain a high-tech work force.

Also key: being close to meatpacking operations and their corporate offices, making northeastern Kansas a logical choice.

“Within five years there will be 200 to 300 employees in the company, most of them in Kansas,” said Donald Marvin, Identigen’s president and chief executive officer in North America, after the company landed a testing contract with Tesco, the world’s fourth-largest retailer. “It does pay to be close to some of your major customers. : (Lawrence) is in the middle of cow country, and it is in the middle of the meat-production part of the high plains out here.”

Such geographical advantages helped Serologicals, an Atlanta-based company that makes products for the pharmaceutical industry, to build a $35 million production plant in Lawrence’s East Hills Business Park. The plant was designed and built to produce Ex-Cyte, a cell-growth liquid derived from bovine serum, a plentiful byproduct from beef plants in Kansas.

While the Lawrence plant was completed in 2004, validated in 2005 and set for full production in early 2006, the 45,000-square-foot center was idled by Serologicals and put up for sale. It remains on the market, having attracted sporadic interest from potential buyers.

Flavin considers the building an “absolute asset,” adding flexibility to a market that already counts many advantages for companies looking for a place to set up shop.

“We have great transportation in and out, and great research facilities within reach,” Flavin said. “We have a work force that is trainable and ready. We’re every bit as attractive as anywhere in the country, and we’re even more attractive in terms of some of the ancillary things, in terms of affordability, housing affordability.”