Lavern Squier, left, president and chief executive officer of the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce, visits with Bob Marcusse, of the Kansas City Area Development Council, at the chamber's Bioscience Speaker Series at Maceli's. The Wednesday event featured talks by leaders from two local companies with good growth prospects - Pioneer Hi-Bred International and Identigen North America.

Soybeans and meat were on the menu of items that local business leaders learned about Wednesday as part of a Lawrence Chamber of Commerce luncheon detailing new bioscience companies in the community.

A crowd of about 30 people at the chamber event were told that growth prospects are good for a pair of local bioscience companies – one that specializes in creating new varieties of soybean seeds, and another that markets a DNA system that can be used by meat producers to assure quality.

Les Kuhlman, a manager with Pioneer Hi-Bred International, said his company is working to build new laboratory space north of Lawrence and plans to increase its office from two employees to six within the near future.

The company plants and tests new varieties of soybean seeds that are designed to thrive in the Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri regions.

The company is making a long-term commitment to Lawrence, Kuhlman said.

“The seed we put in the ground today, we’ll test it seven years before it goes to market,” Kuhlman said. “We’re going to be here quite awhile.”

Don Marvin, chief executive officer of Identigen North America, told the crowd that growth was continuing to happen for the company’s core product, which is designed to help retailers, meat processors and livestock producers to confirm the quality and security of the products.

“Our market timing, we believe, is perfect,” Marvin said.

Identigen chose Lawrence as the site for its North American headquarters in 2006. The company is using Lawrence as a base of operations to market a unique DNA system that can be used by beef, pork and other meat producers.

The product allows a piece of meat in a supermarket to be tested for DNA, which is then matched against a DNA database of animals maintained by Identigen. The product allows meat producers to show consumers where their meat came from and how it was raised.

The system has been used for years in the United Kingdom, and Marvin said he was confident that it would catch on in America.

“What this really offers is a way for consumers to be assured that any marketing claims being made by a meat company can be substantiated,” Marvin said.

Wednesday’s panel also included Dan Flynn, CEO of Deciphera Pharmaceuticals, and Bob Marcusse, with the Kansas City Area Development Council.