Olathe ? The Kansas Bioscience Authority’s investment committee voted Monday to recommend making an investment in a Wichita pharmaceutical company and spending funds to retain a Kansas University professor.

The committee recommended a $225,000 grant for Wichita-based JCB Laboratories Inc., a company specializing in the preparation of injectable pain medications and ophthalmic products.

The 8-year-old company is looking to quadruple its production capacity by moving to a bigger building in Wichita. The grant is designed to assist JCB Labs in finding the needed space and building a clean room in which it will conduct research.

With the funds from the grant, the company is projected to create 15 jobs during a three-year period.

The committee also approved a $650,000 Rising Star application designed to retain a professor at Kansas University. The funds would be spread out over eight years.

The committee did not name the professor, but said the person was involved with the National Cancer Institute designation.

The KBA’s Rising Star program provides money to universities to recruit and retain bioscience scholars. To qualify, the committee looks at grant productivity and team leadership, as well as the person’s interest in applying research to commercial opportunities.

All the committee’s actions taken Monday serve as recommendations to the KBA’s full board of directors, which must approve them before they become final.