KansasBio's IAP Convenes for First Time

KansasBio held a welcome breakfast for its newly formed Industry Advisory Panel (IAP) on July 26 at the Enterprise Center of Johnson County.  The IAP is comprised of our industry’s leading subject matter experts, primarily within the private sector.  KansasBio plans to leverage this expertise to benefit the bioscience industry in numerous ways:

1. Voice the industry’s position on policy matters
2. Testify on behalf of legislation
3. Represent private sector industry in discussions regarding research and investment of state resources
4. Galvanize support for the scientific and business approach regarding issues
5. Encourage legislators to vote in support of our industry
6. Engage civic leaders and the community at large

The KansasBio IAP will enable our bioscience industry voice to be heard throughout the region, as well as inside the Kansas Statehouse and on Capitol Hill in Washington DC. In so doing, the IAP will also forge our path forward for membership expansion, enabling KansasBio to develop new programs which benefit the industry, including:

• C-Level Roundtables – where C-level executives discuss challenges, establish relationships, synergistic partnerships, and collaborative research projects;
• Scientific Symposiums – where scientists showcase discoveries and gain valuable momentum from collective successes related to capital formation, federal funding, and market engagement;
• Collaborative Workforce Programming – state and industry-sponsored initiatives which address expanding workforce needs of private sector companies and academic institutions, bridging gaps between education and private sectors.

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Kansas Excels in Bioscience & Technology According to Three National Reports

Kansas Moves Up from 27th to 10th in Biotechnology Strength

Business Facilities magazine, one of the country’s foremost media brands specializing in the site selection marketplace, recently ranked Kansas 10th in the nation in Overall Biotechnology Strength.  In 2007 Kansas ranked only 27th.  The magazine identified more than 20 key criteria that were applied to measure each state including amount of state R&D funding and tax exemptions specifically targeted to biotech.  The report stated, “Every state that placed in the top 10 of this year's ranking should be considered a biotechnology leader.” 

For the full report, click here.

Batelle Report Highlights Kansas’ Growing Strengths

The State Bioscience Initiatives 2008 report, issued by Battelle, SSTI, and Bio, noted Kansas bioscience success stories and innovative state initiatives such as the Kansas Bioscience Centers of Innovation and the Collaborative Biosecurity Research Initiative. Highlights of this report include:

• Kansas has an industry specialization significantly above the national average in the agricultural feedstock and chemicals subsector, with total employment impact of more than 9,400 jobs and 13 percent growth in business establishments from 2001 to 2006. 
• Kansas has an industry concentration above the national average in the research, testing, and medical laboratories subsector, with 241 companies established in 2006, an increase of 46.2 percent over 2001, the greatest growth rate of all states. 
• Jobs in the drugs and pharmaceuticals subsector have an average annual wage of more than $63,000, the highest of any bio industry subsector in Kansas.
• Academic R&D expenditures and NIH funding in the state are up 15.5 percent and
  12.7 percent respectively since 2002.

For the full report, click here.

Kansas Moves Up to 24th in 2008 State Technology & Science Index

The Milken Institute's 2008 State Technology and Science Index ranked Kansas 24th in the nation overall, up from 26th in 2004, on its inventory of technology and science assets.  Report highlights include:

• Milken ranked Kansas 18th in the nation in technology concentration and dynamism, largely due to the cluster of tech companies in northeast Kansas and the Wichita region. 
• Kansas ranked 19th in the nation in the subcategory of human capital investment. Statewide programs that identify talented and entrepreneurial Kansans, such as the KTEC PIPELINE, focus on human capital and its competitive advantage in economic development.
• In the subcategory of technology and science work force, Kansas ranked 23rd.
  Kansas' software and information technology workforce accounts for 54,000 high-wage technology jobs.

For the full report, click here.

Ethanol:  Good News for Kansas
By: Lieutenant Governor Mark Parkinson

Kansas families are paying more for food than ever before.

There is a popular misconception that ethanol is to blame – a misconception that was created and promoted through a political attack campaign in Washington D.C.

Recently, Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa told his Senate colleagues that “this anti-ethanol campaign is not a coincidence. It turns out that a $300,000, six-month retainer of a beltway public relations firm is behind the negative campaign, hired by the Grocery Manufacturers Association.”

With these attacks exposed, it is time to set the record straight: Ethanol is not to blame for rising food costs.

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