JULY 2008

The Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute provides this news brief for civic, corporate, political and scientific leaders to update you on the progress of the life sciences initiative in the Kansas City area. To unsubscribe, please contact Terri Bogina at 816-753-7700.

• Registration open for One Medicine: One Health--Second Annual CVC Symposium

• MRI team nets DOE NREL management contract

• KU Cancer Center enters Phase 1 Clinical Trial with KU-developed Nanotax

• K-State researchers using stem cells from umbilical cord to transport capsules of anti-cancer drugs directly to tumors

• KU receives NIH grant for Alzheimer’s research

• Saint Luke’s Brain and Stroke Institute seeks clinical trial participants

• K-State awarded $690K for biofuels concept study on ethanol

• Sen. Bond secures $1 million in federal funding for MWSU Biotech

• KBA announces grants

• Metropolitan Community College names
  two new executives

• KU science, engineering education project receives $2.9 million NIH grant

• Hall Family makes $11 million donation to Children’s Mercy expansion

• Montelone named interim director of K-State Biosecurity Research Institute

• UMKC Chancellor Guy Bailey resigns,
  interim named

• MU Provost appoints Porter as Interim
  Dean of Education

Registration open for Second Annual CVC Symposium
One Medicine: One Health

Capitalizing on the animal health practitioners visiting Kansas City for CVC Central (Veterinary Conference) next month, KCALSI will again join forces with the veterinary schools of the University of Missouri-Columbia and Kansas State University to offer a free research symposium for members of the medical, veterinary and public health community.

Entitled One Medicine: One Health and moderated by Larry R. Anderson, DVM, MD, the symposium features national and regional experts who will discuss the relationship between animal and human health. National speakers include Dr. Lisa Conti, Director, Division of Environmental Health Florida State Health Department and luncheon keynote by Dr. David E. Swayne, of the USDA’s Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory. Regional speakers include: Drs. David G. Renter, and Ludek Zurek, from K-State and Drs. John R. Middleton and Jeff W.Tyler, from MU.

The term “one medicine” was coined in 1960 by Calvin Schwabe, a University of California veterinary scientist and epidemiologist. The concept of One Medicine: One Health is for veterinarians and their colleagues in human medicine to collaborate in addressing dangerous zoonotic diseases, keeping both humans and animals healthy.

The Symposium has been approved for 3.00 hours of continuing education credit in jurisdictions which recognize AAVSB’s RACE approval.

For registration, additional details visit: www.kclifesciencesday.org.

MRI team nets DOE NREL management contract

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced it has selected the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC (the Alliance) as the next management contractor of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

The Alliance is a new entity—equally owned and governed by Midwest Research Institute and Battelle—established for the sole purpose of managing and operating NREL. MRI has managed NREL since its inception in 1977 and for the past 10 years, Battelle has served as an integrated subcontractor. The new Alliance partnership will transform the laboratory into the world’s premiere laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency while accelerating achievement of the national energy goals. The Alliance has amassed a partnership of more than 20 organizations and collaborators who will further enhance NREL’s capabilities in science and technology as well as commercialization and development.

KU Cancer Center enters Phase 1 Clinical Trial
with KU-developed Nanotax

The University of Kansas Cancer Center has announced the opening of a Phase 1 clinical trial using Nanotax, a new ovarian cancer drug developed by KU researchers. Nanotax is the reformulation of a commonly used chemotherapy drug, Paclitaxel. The effectiveness of the drug was significantly undermined by a negative side effects profile attributed to the solvent that it is mixed with in order to be administered to patients. Bala Subramaniam, PhD, distinguished professor of chemical and petroleum engineering, Valentino Stella, PhD, distinguished professor of pharmaceutical chemistry and co-leader of the KU Cancer Center’s Drug Discovery and Experimental Therapeutics Research Program , and Roger Rajewski, PhD, director of the Biotechnology, Innovation and Optimization Center at KU developed technology that broke Paclitaxel down into a nanoparticle form. This reformulation allows it to be mixed with water and then administered to patients in the abdomen, an innovative approach for delivery that KU researchers believe dramatically boosts survival rates, compared to the drug being delivered intravenously. Nanotax, was licensed to Lawrence-based CritiTech, Inc., who filed the new drug application with the FDA. Nanotax represents the first “bench to bedside” drug developed by KU and is now being taken into a clinical trial with patients at the KU Cancer Center. For more information, contact Erica Brown at 913-588-2598.

K-State researchers using stem cells from
umbilical cord to transport capsules of anti-cancer
drugs directly to tumors

Kansas State University researchers – Deryl Troyer, professor of anatomy and physiology at K-State's College of Veterinary Medicine – Duy Hua, university distinguished professor of chemistry, and Masaaki Tamura, associate professor of anatomy and physiology – sreceived a $380,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health to study how stem cells can be used to deliver anti-cancer drugs directly to breast cancer cells via nanoparticles. The researchers have studied the method in vitro but soon hope to study the method in preclinical models. The research is a part of the program of the Midwest Institute for Comparative Stem Cell Biology at K-State and has received support from K-State's Terry C. Johnson Center for Basic Cancer Research.

The researchers are using stem cells isolated from Wharton's jelly, the substance that cushions blood vessels in the umbilical cord. Troyer said the stem cells display a sort of homing ability in that they tend to travel to tumors and other pathological lesions. The researchers are using these stem cells as delivery systems by loading the cells with nanoparticles that contain anti-cancer drugs.

Hua is fabricating the nanoparticles and some of the small-molecule drugs for the research. The tiny capsules carrying the drugs are nanogels made up of two polymers. The nanogel has a dye molecule that allows the researchers to follow it through the body using a fluorescent microscope. The nanogel capsules are loaded into a stem cell, which responds to proteins sent out by the cancer cells by homing to them, Hua said. As the stem cells reach the cancer tissues, another chemical that induces cell death of the stem cells will be administered – only stem cells are engineered to respond to this additional drug. This means that the nanogel-encapsulated drugs will be released from the stem cells directly at the cancer tissue. Because the drugs are going directly to cancer cells, Troyer said this method potentially can cause fewer side effects than less direct methods like intravenous chemotherapy. For more information, contact Cheryl May at 785-532-6415.

KU receives NIH grant for Alzheimer’s research

The University of Kansas has received a $2.1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to conduct research on drugs that may help treat Alzheimer’s Disease. The four-year grant was awarded to Mary Michaelis, professor of pharmacology and toxicology. The goal of the research is to develop at least one of two very promising drugs, or a derivative to the point where Michaelis can file an investigational new drug application, allowing testing on human subjects. The award is part of a newer NIH grant category targeted at collaborators who have the capacity to translate their research into practical applications. For more information, contact Debra Simon at 785-864-5209.

Saint Luke’s Brain and Stroke Institute
seeks clinical trial participants

Brain and Stroke Institute participates
in MS Phase III drug trial

Saint Luke’s Brain and Stroke Institute is participating in a landmark Phase III clinical trial evaluating what researchers hope could become a leading safe and effective treatment in delaying disease progression for secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS)--an advanced and especially debilitating form of MS characterized by irreversible decline in both neurological and physical function.

Entitled MAESTRO-03, the phase III multi-center clinical trial is a double-blind, placebo-controlled study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a proprietary drug called MBP8298, administered intravenously every six months. In a study published in the European Journal of Neurology in August 2006, MBP8298 showed a five-year delay in median time to disease progression in a subgroup of MS patients who have immune response genes HLA-DR2 and/or HLA-DR4, genes found in up to75 percent of all MS patients.

The MAESTRO-03 clinical trial anticipates enrolling approximately 510 patients at up to 65 sites who will be administered either MBP8298 or placebo intravenously every six months for a period of two years. Patients and family caregivers interested in learning more about the MAESTRO-03 trial can visit www.clinicaltrials.gov or call (816) 932-1508.

Brain Study seeks volunteers with Alzheimer’s disease

Saint Luke’s Brain and Stroke Institute is participating in ICARA (Investigational Clinical Amyloid Research in Alzheimer’s), an international clinical study to learn if an investigational drug can help control the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

Participants for the ICARA study must be between 50 and 88 years of age, have a diagnosis of mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease and have a caregiver who is willing to be involved in the study. For more information about the study and how to enroll, call (816) 932-9897.

K-State awarded $690K for biofuels
concept study on ethanol

With the help of a $690,000 grant from the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Energy, researchers at K-State will address the logistical hurdles of transporting collectable biomass to the nearest storage and ethanol production facility. The K-State project is the first study of its kind to test the notion of making biomass pellets at or near the farm field and assessing the effect of pelletizing through to ethanol conversion. Pellet making is a mechanical, extrusion process that reduces the enormous volume of plant material. The three-year proof-of-concept project is one of 21 research and development studies being funded to address limitations to adopting biomass for energy as national policy. The project will compare sorghums and other feedstocks to corn. Ethanol production results will be benchmarked against results from corn and switchgrass. For more information, contact Cheryl May at 785-532-6415.

Sen. Bond secures $1 million in federal funding
for MWSU Biotech

U.S. Senator Kit Bond announced that he has secured $1 million in federal funds for the Missouri Western Statue University (MWSU) Biotechnology Mobile Workforce Development Center. The MWSU Mobile Workforce Development Center will help introduce biotechnology to students, explain how it fits into their lives and encourage them to consider careers in the industry. The federal funds will upgrade an existing mobile center with new technology, displays and educational materials. Bond secured the funds in the fiscal year 2009 Financial Services and General Government spending bill, which passed the full Senate Appropriations Committee on July 10, 2008.

KBA announces grants

Kansas Bioscience Authority announced four grants totaling $4.85 million to help companies in Kansas:

KC BioMediX of DeSoto will receive an equity investment of $400,000 to commercialize technologies developed at KU to care for infants born prematurely. The company’s FDA-approved device, the NTrainer System, uses state-of-the-art hardware and software to treat premature babies who have difficulty feeding orally.

VasoGenix Pharmaceuticals of Lenexa will receive $200,000 to develop its patented controlled-release drug treatment for heart failure, a disease that affects 5 million people and 550,000 new patients annually. The company is completing preclinical studies of its treatment, which uses a molecule with a history of safe use in humans and which aims to improve health while reducing re-hospitalization costs by $6 billion a year. The company will match KBA funding with private investment.

Ventria Bioscience of Junction City received a $3.75 million convertible note as part of a $7.5 million financing plan to expand operations, including an increase in employment and expanded production capacity in Kansas. The financing will help the company prepare for the commercial launch of its pediatric health product, which was clinically shown to shorten the duration of acute childhood diarrhea, the second-leading killer of children under 5 years of age, claiming 2 million lives a year, globally.

MGP Ingredients Inc. of Achison will receive $500,000 to develop and further commercialize bio-based, biodegradable resins to replace plastic. The resin can be used for products such as disposable cutlery, DVD cases, bottle caps. The project is expected to create 54 jobs, with $9.9 million in capital investment to build production capacity in Onaga, Kansas.

Metropolitan Community College names
two new executives

Metropolitan Community College-Kansas City announced the appointments for executive director of economic development and president of the MCC-Business and Technology Campus. Gary Sage was named executive director of economic development for MCC, a new position created to oversee districtwide economic development. Deborah Goodall was named as interim president of the MCC-Business and Technology campus, the post previously held by Sage. Goodall will continue to serve in her previous position as director of career and technical education, and dean of student development and community relations at the Business and Technology campus.

KU science, engineering education project
receives $2.9 million NIH grant

University of Kansas researchers and graduate students will work to instill a love for science, math and engineering in K-12 students in Kansas, thanks to the award of $2.9 million over five years from the National Institutes of Health. The program will bring hands-on science experiences and cooperative learning into middle school classrooms in Topeka and Kansas City, Kansas. The project will look at delivering innovative lessons and ideas using active learning and science research based on national and state curriculum standards for those grade levels. The program also will work to establish a sustainable outreach partnership among participating school districts.
> More info

Hall Family makes $11 million donation
to Children’s Mercy expansion

Members of the Hall Family have announced plans for a donation of $11 million to Children’s Mercy Hospitals and Clinics in Kansas City, Mo. This substantial gift comes on the heels of a $43 million pledge from the Hall Family FoundationIn all, the two pledges total $54 million and will support Phase 1 of a 15-year, $800 million expansion. The $43 million Hall Family Foundation gift is one of the largest gifts ever bestowed to a children’s hospital and the single largest gift in Children’s Mercy’s 110-year history. For more information, contact Jessica Salazar at 816-346-1346.

Montelone named interim director of K-State
Biosecurity Research Institute

Beth A. Montelone has been named interim director of Kansas State University's Biosecurity Research Institute in Pat Roberts Hall. She also becomes Peine professor of biosecurity. Montelone is a professor of biology who currently serves as associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. She will continue her responsibilities as associate dean on a half-time basis.

UMKC Chancellor Guy Bailey resigns, interim named

University of Missouri-Kansas City Chancellor Guy Bailey has resigned his post, having accepted a position as president of Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. Gary Forsee, President, University of Missouri System, announced that UMKC Board of Trustees Chair Leo Morton has agreed to serve as the campus’ interim chancellor, effective August 1. Until recently, Leo served as senior vice president and chief administrative officer for Aquila, Inc.

MU Provost appoints Porter as Interim Dean of Education

University of Missouri Provost Brian Foster has announced that Rose Porter, dean of the MU Sinclair School of Nursing, has been named interim dean of the MU College of Education, effective Aug. 1. Porter has been with the university for 29 years, and previously, had announced her plans to retire as dean of the School of Nursing this fall. Porter will replace Dean Carolyn Herrington, who announced her intent to resign in June. Foster will conduct a national search for a permanent replacement. For more information, contact Christian Basi at 573-882-4430.

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