September 2009
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 Sharon Newman at 816-753-7700.
Truman’s CEO to lead American Hospital Association
The American Hospital Association’s (AHA) Board of Trustees elected John W. Bluford, president and CEO of Truman Medical Centers, as its chair-elect designate. Bluford will assume chairmanship in 2011, becoming the top elected official of the national organization. More info
Saint Luke’s looks at new cardio care model
Saint Luke’s Health System and Cardiovascular Consultants PA are working on an agreement to increase the quality of patient care and the scope of cardiovascular services available while decreasing the cost of such care. More info
ViraCor-IBT develops swine flu test
ViraCore-IBT Laboratories in Lee’s Summit and Lenexa has developed a test to diagnose the H1N1 flu, or swine flu, in patients. In addition it can also determine whether a patient has a drug-resistant strain of H1N1. More info
French-based animal health company expands in KC
Ceva Sante Animale will build a second production plant in Lenexa for its U.S. subsidiary, Ceva Biomune. The new plant represents a $15 million investment by the company who also plans to create an additional 80 new jobs. The plant will house a state-of-the-art poultry vaccine production operation. More info
MU’s tech program brings in $10 million
The University of Missouri’s technology transfer program moves discoveries made on the campus to the private sector. The program reached $10 million in licensing income for the first time this September. The university hopes to bring in $50 million in the next five years. More info
New UMKC dean wants to nurture
more entrepreneurial leaders
Teng-Kee Tan, the new dean of the Henry W. Bloch School of Business and Public Administration at the University of Missouri-Kansas City wants to build local and national stature for the university by focusing on the school’s namesake and nurturing more entrepreneurs. His plans include having students pitch business plans and start businesses to supplement classroom instruction with real-world experience. More info
Mediware doubles profit
Lenexa-based Mediware Information Systems Inc. increased its earnings from 9 cents a share last year to 20 cents a share this year. The company develops software to help clients manage blood and medication. More info
Contributions set a new record at KU
The University of Kansas received $106.4 million in gifts and pledges from 45,186 people this past year setting a new university record in private giving. The increase in fundraising was attributable primarily to support for life sciences research and National Cancer Institute designation. More info
KU’s business school jumps to top 30 in the nation
U.S. News and World Report ranked the University of Kansas’ undergraduate business school as the 28th best in the country among public institutions. The business school joins 43 other nationally ranked programs at KU. More info
UMKC gets $1.2 million to create jobs for youth and veterans with disabilities
The National Science Foundation awarded the University of Missouri-Kansas City Institute for Human Development and School of Computing and Engineering $1.2 million over the next five years to develop its program to create jobs in science, technology, engineering and math for youth and veterans with disabilities. More info
K-State helps community college students
broaden degrees
Kansas State University’s 2+2 Partnerships allow people earn an associate’s degree at their local community college and then transfer their credits to K-State to earn a bachelor’s degree through the university’s distance education program. K-State currently partners with more than 15 community colleges. The latest partnership is with Cloud County Community College. More info
Kansas health agency gets $3M
The national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention awarded the Kansas Department of Health & Environment a five-year, $3 million grant to collaborate with 16 other states in tracking the environment’s effects on health. More info
New fetal health center in KC
Children’s Mercy Hospitals and Clinics in collaboration with the University of Missouri – Kansas City will establish a new Fetal Health Center this month at Children’s Mercy in Overland Park. The center is designed to provide an integrated, multidisciplinary approach to caring for infants with serious congenital birth defects before, during and after delivery. When complete, Children’s Mercy will be only the second pediatric hospital in the nation to provide such range of services. More info
Children’s Mercy implants first CardioGraft
Doctors at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City performed the first implant of a CardioGraft. The CardioGraft is an allograft cardiac patch product with technology that removes donor cells from the cardiovascular tissues. This technology should decrease the number of open heart surgeries young patients endure over the course of their life. More info
MU students may help release
cocaine users from addiction
Doctoral students at the University of Missouri’s Computational Neurobiology Center have discovered that glutamate transporters, a protein present connecting the decision-making center of the brain to the pleasure center, are almost 40 percent less functional after chronic cocaine usage. Their findings predict that alteration of glutamate must take place for addicts to recover. More info
Boehringer Ingelheim will acquire some of
Overland Park’s Fort Dodge
Boehringer Ingelheim reached an agreement with Pfizer to acquire business from Overland Park-based Fort Dodge Animal Health. The deal will close once Pfizer completes its acquisition of Wyeth. Fort Dodge Animal Health is a division of Wyeth. More info
Saint-Luke’s research finds that black patients have lower rate of survival after in-hospital cardiac arrest
Dr. Paul S. Chan, of Saint Luke's Mid America Heart Institute and colleagues used data from the National Registry of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (NRCPR) to examine whether racial differences exist in survival for patients with in-hospital cardiac arrest. The study concluded that, compared with white patients, black patients who have an in-hospital cardiac arrest are significantly less likely to survive to hospital discharge, having lower rates of successful resuscitation and postresuscitation survival, although much of this survival difference was associated with the hospital in which black patients received care, according to a study in the September 16 issue of Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). More info |
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MARK YOUR CALENDAR
KCSourceLink
Entrepreneurs Happy Hour
Date: Thursday, October 8
5:00 - 7:00 pm
Location:
Enterprise Center of Johnson County
8527 Bluejacket Street
Lenexa, KS 66214
Contact: Joey Medellin at network@kcsourcelink.com or
816-235-6500 |
Technology Entrepreneur Speakers Program
Presented by the Small Business & Technology Center at UMKC and sponsored by Polsinelli Shughart PC.
Date: October 20
5:30 - 7:00 pm
Hosted by: Polsinelli Shughart PC
Contact: Abigail at 816-235-6063
Fee: Advance registration $25.00 (onsite is $30.00).
Schedule of speakers:
Oct. 20: Thomas A. DeBacco, Founder, Imodules Software, Inc.
Nov. 17: Venture Capital Panel: Lance LeMay, October Capital, Mike Peck, Open Prairie Venture, Scott Ford, Open Air Venture |
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KCALSI Annual Dinner
Date: Wed., April 21, 2010
Location: Hyatt Regency Crown Center |
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