A startup veterinary research company working to reduce the severity of a disorder that afflicts performance horses is relocating its corporate headquarters and operations to Lawrence from New York.

ANOxA Corp. announced Tuesday morning that it would bring its main office along with its research and development operations to town from West Seneca, N.Y.

“Considering the Kansas City area’s concentration of animal health companies, universities excelling in veterinary research and potential animal health collaborators, we find this environment very appealing,” said Herman Haenert, president of ANOxA, in a statement. “We know this is where we need to be.”

The company is expected to have the Lawrence operation up and running within two months at 619 N. Second St., in North Lawrence. Haenert and two other employees will be based in Lawrence, and the company plans to hire another seven employees within five years.

ANOxA will receive $300,000 from the Kansas Bioscience Authority, along with other state incentives through the Kansas Department of Commerce.

The startup company recently patented its Eiphisol technology, which is envisioned as a treatment to control Exercise Induced Pulmonary Hemorrhage, or EIPH, in horses.

Haenert described EIPH as a disorder commonly found in performance horses, and those that become afflicted are known as bleeders. Horses struck by EIPH range from standard breeds to thoroughbreds, he said, and include race horses, barrel racers and others.

ANOxA is preparing to seek FDA approval for its indictable treatment, which prevents scarring in horses’ lungs. One of the company’s board members, Jerry Guest, is former director of the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine.

If approved, Haenert said, the market for Eiphisol could be worth $200 million a year.

“There’s nothing like it on the market,” Haenert said Tuesday from the Western Veterinary Conference in Las Vegas, a gathering of 14,000 scientists, professionals and industry representatives. “There’s no product that competes with it. There’s nothing that will treat it (EIPH) today. This product does so, so that’s the potential market worldwide.”

Beth Johnson, vice president for economic development at the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce, joined with the bioscience authority, the state’s commerce department, the Kansas City Area Development Council and also Kansas State University in helping convince ANOxA to choose Lawrence.

“ANOxA increases Lawrence’s footprint in the animal health corridor, thus making our community a stronger and more marketable location for that industry,” Johnson said.

ANOxA has proposed a contract with Aptuit Inc., a pharmaceutical company with operations in the Kansas City metro area, to handle synthesis of the treatment product.

“The opportunity for ANOxA to partner with area universities and companies specializing in animal pharmaceutical development is a great match for the corridor as well as ANOxA,” said Lynn Parman, vice president for life sciences and technology development at the Kansas City Area Development Council, in a statement.

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