OCTOBER 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.

• MRI, MU researchers receive $1.9 million DOE grant to create new hydrogen storage device
• MU researchers identify proteins that play important role in blood-vessel dysfunction
  in type 2 diabetes
• University of Kansas Cancer Center
  receives $1 million cancer gift
• KU biomedical research lab receives
  five-year, $9.5 million grant renewal
• MU dedicates International Institute of Nano
  and Molecular Medicine
• Olathe’s Heritage Labs to manufacture
  biospecimen kits for national study
• Teva announces definitive agreement
  to sell Israeli based vet business
• IdentiGEN DNA TraceBack® assay pilots
  with Canada Government
• Deciphera Pharmaceuticals enters worldwide licensing agreement with Eli Lilly, leases KU space
• Bayer Animal Health hires von Simson
  to direct companion animal vet tech services
• Saint Luke’s Steven P. Marso, MD,
  receives vascular research award
• Spielberg to head Children’s Mercy Center
  for Personalized Medicine

MRI, MU researchers receive $1.9 million DOE grant to create new hydrogen storage device

Researchers at Midwest Research Institute (MRI) and the University of Missouri (MU) were awarded a three-year, $1.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to continue developing solutions to hydrogen storage in vehicles. Current tanks only have ample fuel space to allow the vehicle to travel 200 miles, an impractical barrier necessitating continued efforts to solve hydrogen storage on-board the vehicles. Researchers will target reducing the size and weight of the tank and increasing the storage capacity by developing storage materials that hold hydrogen at a much lower pressure than the current high-pressure tanks.

This MU-MRI project is one of 10 cost-shared hydrogen storage research and development projects recently announced by the DOE, projects that are part of both President Bush’s Hydrogen Fuel Initiative and the President’s Advanced Energy Initiative to reduce the Nation’s dependence on foreign energy sources.   

>> For more information, contact Linda Cook at 
(816) 360-1943.

MU researchers identify proteins that play important role in blood-vessel dysfunction in type 2 diabetes

By identifying the proteins that play important roles in blood vessel dysfunction, MU researchers hope to develop new treatments for people with type 2 diabetes. Using precise microscopes, MU researchers are dissecting coronary microvessels and testing which proteins are responsible for inflammation that causes blood-vessel dysfunction.

Cuihua Zhang, an investigator in the Dalton Cardiovascular Research Center and associate professor of internal medicine in the MU School of Medicine, said, “The results of our studies may provide new approaches for the treatment of blood-vessel diseases and disorders in type 2 diabetes, such as the possible use of antibodies that work to stop the proteins responsible for inflammation.”

Zhang and other researchers tested their hypothesis that tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), a signaling protein involved in inflammation, was responsible for blood-vessel dysfunction in type 2 diabetes. They observed that diabetic mice had elevated levels of TNF. When diabetic mice lacked TNF, their blood vessels functioned normally. They also observed that advanced glycation end products and their receptors (AGE/RAGE), which are proteins and lipids that contribute to various blood vessel complications, amplified TNF production in diabetes. In patients with diabetes, AGEs accumulate more quickly than normal in the blood and arteries.  

Zhang presented “TNF-Alpha and Vascular Dysfunction” at the Keystone Symposia Conference in Breckenridge, Colo. Her study “AGE/RAGE Produces Endotheilial Dysfunction in Coronary Arterioles in Type II Diabetic Mice,” was published in the American Journal of Physiology.

>> For more information, contact Kelsey Jackson at
(573) 882-8353.

University of Kansas Cancer Center
receives $1 million cancer gift

Leawood, Kansas residents, Floriene and George Lieberman contributed $1 million to the University of Kansas Cancer Center to aid in its pursuit of National Cancer Institute designation. Thirty-two years ago, as Floriene Lieberman was battling breast cancer, the lack of an NCI-designated cancer center in the area resulted in her travel to the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston for treatment.

The gift will establish the Floriene and George Lieberman Family Professorship, which will fund a leadership faculty position in the Phase I clinical trials program. The program tests new drugs coming out of the laboratory for cancer patients.

KU biomedical research lab receives
five-year, $9.5 million grant renewal

The National Institutes of Health has announced the renewal of an existing grant to KU. The new five-year, $9.5 million award will support KU’s Center of Excellence in Chemical Methodologies and Library Development. The facility is housed in KU’s new Structural Biology Center and is led by Jeff Aubé, professor of medicinal chemistry.

According to the NIH announcement, “Libraries of small molecules are a crucial source of potential new drugs and research tools. Yet existing collections — and the techniques needed to generate them — fail to meet all the needs of pharmaceutical and biomedical scientists.” A center for chemical methodologies and library development addresses this problem by developing new technologies to generate, analyze and improve chemical libraries.

>> For more information, contact: Kevin Boatright at
(785) 864-7240.

MU dedicates International Institute of Nano and Molecular Medicine

University of Missouri officials dedicated the International Institute of Nano and Molecular Medicine (I2NM2) and a thermal neutron beam line during a recent three-day symposium. The dedication was celebrated with an international symposium featuring presentations on new chemistry and its interface with biology, nanoscience and translational medicine.  Speakers included internationally renowned scientists, a Nobel Laureate, members of the National Academy of Science and a NASA astronaut.

The institute is housed in a new $10 million building located next to the MU Research Reactor Center. Scientists at I2NM2 are engaged in several research areas, including development of novel pharmaceuticals, new nanoparticle imaging and therapy agents, targeted drug delivery systems, molecular motors for controlled activation of nanodevices, catalysts, enzymes and immunomolecules as well as energy storage devices.

>> For more information, contact Christian Basi at
(573) 882-4430

Olathe’s Heritage Labs to manufacture
biospecimen kits for national study

Hooper Holmes (AMEX:HH) announced that its Heritage Labs division was awarded a contract to manufacture biospecimen kits for the National Children’s Study (NCS) by Westat, an employee-owned corporation providing research services to agencies of the U.S. Government as well as businesses, foundations, and state and local governments. The contract has an initial value of about $3 million over three years and may be extended. All kit manufacturing and laboratory testing will be performed at Heritage Labs’ headquarters in Olathe, Kansas.

In order to study the main hypotheses for the NCS, a variety of data will be collected from participants, including biological specimens. Biospecimens from a potential mother, father, and/or child will either be collected by a data collector or self collected by the participant and will take place at defined time periods or visits during the study. The visits are defined as Pre-Pregnancy (P1), First Trimester Pregnancy (T1), Third Trimester Pregnancy (T3), Birth (B) and 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, or 12 months after the child is born. In order to guarantee consistency of data collection across study locations and between participants, Heritage Labs will manufacture biospecimen collection kits that will help to streamline biospecimen collection and ensure efficiency, effectiveness, and good quality control in the field.

Teva announces definitive agreement
to sell Israeli based vet business

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Israeli based veterinary business unit to Phibro Animal Health Corporation, for total consideration of approximately $47 million. Teva's veterinary business unit in Israel develops, manufacturers and markets veterinary products for poultry and other farm animals in Israel and internationally, particularly in Southeast Asia, Africa, Latin America and Eastern Europe.

IdentiGEN DNA TraceBack® assay pilots
with Canada Government

IdentifGEN has teamed up with the Government of Alberta, Prairie Heritage Beef and Quality Foods on a pilot program to test the DNA TraceBack® system that tracks beef from the ranch to the retail store.  This is one of the first commercial programs of any scale that will initially deploy DNA TraceBack from the ‘live animal’ through the entire meat supply chain right to the consumer’s dinner plate.  This ‘whole chain traceability’ concept has been designed to support the Canadian consumer’s demand for meat traceability and to give Canadian meat a competitive edge.

>> For more information, contact Michele Wells at
(303) 417-0696.

Deciphera Pharmaceuticals enters worldwide licensing agreement with Eli Lilly, leases KU space

Deciphera Pharmaceuticals, LLC and Eli Lilly Company have entered into a collaboration and worldwide licensing agreement related to Deciphera’s preclinical B-Raf kinase inhibitor program for the study of potential oncology therapeutics. The collaboration will apply Deciphera’s phylomechanics discovery platform, a unique, proprietary approach to kinase inhibitor design, together with Lilly’s expertise in discovery, development and commercialization to pursue first-in-class and best-in-class drug candidates for a variety of cancers. BRAF kinase is one of the most frequently mutated members of the kinase family across all cancers and is particularly common in malignant melanomas, colon, and thyroid cancers.

Deciphera also announced plans to lease 7,700 square feet temporarily available at University of Kansas Life Sciences Research Laboratory. The space had been occupied by KU’s High-Throughput Screening Laboratory and Center of Excellence in Chemical Methodologies and Library Design, prior to relocating to Structural Biology Center on KU’s west campus.

Bayer Animal Health hires von Simson
to direct companion animal vet tech services

Bayer Animal Health announces the hire of Dr. Cristiano von Simson as director of veterinary technical services for companion animal products. Von Simson will oversee the veterinary medical functions for brands such as Advantage Multi, K9 Advantix, Drontal and Baytril. He has a doctorate in veterinary medicine from the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, and an MBA from Fundação Getulio Vargas in Sao Paulo.

Saint Luke’s Steven P. Marso, MD,
receives vascular research award

The Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) Coalition presented the Coalition’s second annual Best PAD Research Award in Vascular Interventions to cardiologist Steven P. Marso, MD. The Best PAD Research Award honors the work of investigators and acknowledges the creation of new clinical research relevant to the understanding and/or treatment of peripheral arterial disease. Dr. Marso is a Clinical Scholar at Saint Luke's Mid America Heart Institute. He and his colleagues were recognized for their work on the research study, “Quantifying Improvements in Symptoms, Functioning, and Quality of Life After Peripheral Endovascular Revascularization,” published in the journal, Circulation (Circulation, Jrnl. of the AHA, Feb 6, 2007; 116: 569-575). The study examined the extent to which peripheral endovascular revascularization improved the quality of life for most patients with PAD one year after the procedure. Study co-authors include David M. Safley, MD; John A. House, MS; Steven B. Laster, MD; William C. Daniel, MD; and John A. Spertus, MD, MPH.

Spielberg to head Children’s Mercy Center
for Personalized Medicine

Stephen P. Spielberg, MD, PhD, one of the nation’s best-known specialists in pediatric pharmacology, has joined the staff at Children’s Mercy Hospitals and Clinics as Director of the new Center for Personalized Medicine and Therapeutic Innovation.  Dr. Spielberg will also hold the Marion Merrell Dow Endowed Chair in Pediatric Pharmacogenomics and a professorial appointment at the UMKC School of Medicine. Dr. Spielberg formerly was the Dean and Vice President for Health Affairs at Dartmouth Medical School. He has 30 years experience in academic and industry clinical pharmacology and therapeutics, and currently also serves as Principal Investigator for the Institute for Pediatric Innovation, a non-profit organization focused on developing improved medicines and devices to meet the therapeutic needs of children. (Children’s Mercy is one of the three founding members of the Consortium of Pediatric Hospitals within IPI, along with Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford University and Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in Cleveland.)

The new Center for Personalized Medicine is a branch of the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Pharmacology and Medical Toxicology and will reach across medical and professional disciplines within Children’s Mercy to create a novel program dedicated to delivering state-of-the-art drug therapy to patients, fueled by translating discoveries to impactful treatment decisions. 

>> For more information, contact Jessica Salazar at
(816) 346-1346.

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