The new Kansas State University building at the Kansas Bioscience Park in Olathe. Photo taken April 13, 2011.

A Kansas Bioscience Authority committee recommended on Tuesday that a $600,000 investment in a Lenexa medical device company be considered by the authority’s full board.

The committee discussed investing $600,000 with Spinal Simplicity, LLC, of Lenexa. Founded by a physician and an entrepreneur, the company has developed a medical device for spinal fusion as an alternative to open spinal surgery, according to its website.

The committee passed the recommendation along to the full board without a recommendation of approval or denial.

Keith Harrington, director of commercialization for Heartland BioVentures, which is the commercialization arm of the KBA, worked most closely with the applicant.

He said that while the investment committee typically makes a recommendation of approval on matters submitted to the board, in this case committee members wanted to solicit more opinions from board members before making a decision. Dan Watkins, KBA board chairman, is on the investment committee and was not able to attend the committee meeting, Harrington said.

The committee decided to seek input from him, as well as other members of the board before making a recommendation.