LJWorld.com

Fort Dodge Animal Health plans to build a $40 million research and development center in Olathe, as the first corporate occupant of the Kansas Bioscience Park.

Overland Park-based Fort Dodge, a global developer and manufacturer of animal health products, eventually plans to have 200 employees working at the planned 150,000-square-foot center, to be built on 30 acres provided by the Kansas Bioscience Authority.

"This new facility will enable us to expand on our existing R&D initiatives, accommodate increasing project demands and better position the company to effectively respond to the ever-changing needs of the veterinary community," said E. Thomas Corcoran, Fort Dodge president.

"Expanding in this area will also allow us to draw on the valuable resources of the businesses and universities located within the Kansas City Animal Health Corridor."

Fort Dodge, which already has 200 employees in Overland Park and 3,300 employees worldwide, is a leading producer of vaccines and other pharmaceutical products for livestock and pets, from horses and hogs to cats and dogs. It expects sales this year of $1 billion.

Fort Dodge officials did not disclose a specific timetable for construction, other than it would begin in the near future.

By landing the expansion for Fort Dodge - a company that came to Overland Park in 1995, by moving its headquarters from Iowa - the Kansas City area looks to build what many bioscience leaders consider to be a core strength of the region: a corridor that already boasts companies that account for 32 percent of total sales in the $16.2 billion global animal health market.

"The significant investment the company is making here will create even more gravitational pull, stimulating other animal health research and business in this community," said Tom Thornton, president of the bioscience authority. "This is a great growth opportunity for Kansas."

The bioscience authority is providing both the land and up to $3.5 million in financial assistance to Fort Dodge, which is a division of Wyeth, a New Jersey-based maker of pharmaceuticals and other health care products. The Kansas Department of Commerce also has agreed to provide a variety of training and other incentives.

"This is a global company that could have gone anywhere in the world but saw the value of being right here in Kansas and right in the heart of the renowned animal health corridor," said David Kerr, Kansas secretary of commerce.

The bioscience authority is the developer of the bioscience park, in partnership with Kansas State University and the city of Olathe. Fort Dodge plans to occupy much of the northern side of the bioscience park, near 107th Street and South Valley Parkway, while the south side of the park - near College Boulevard - will be home to K-State's Olathe Innovation Campus.

The bioscience authority is a $581 million initiative created by the Kansas Legislature to support research efforts, boost startups and attract companies to the state and encourage existing operations to expand.