The
Emergence of The Life
Sciences

Trends in Economic Development,
Perspectives From Joe Driskill

by jack cashill

Joe Driskill is a man on a mission. That mission is to make Missouri and, by extension, the Kansas City area something of a Mecca for the life science industry.

There is nothing arbitrary about this pursuit. Three years ago, the Missouri Department of Economic Development of which Driskill is the Director, initiated a study of various industries with an eye on targeting those that proved most viable. The ultimate goal, of course, was to encourage growth among existing companies in the targeted industries and to recruit new ones.

According to Driskill, the search centered on those industries that had excellent growth potential, that spoke to the future, that enhanced the state's quality of life, that offered stable, well-paying jobs, and that already had a solid base on which to grow and from which to develop critical mass.

"No matter how we evaluated the results," says Driskill, "life sciences was right up there at the top." As a result of the study, the state actively supports companies in this industry in their efforts to find marketable solutions to the world's biotechnical challenges. The passage of the Missouri New Enterprise Creation Act by the Missouri Legislature in 1999 has helped considerably. The act established a seed capital investment fund that assists start-up businesses in these technology-oriented fields.

"Life Sciences" is one of those contemporary business shorthands that people presume to understand but often do not. From the perspective of the Missouri Department of Economic Development, the category includes any kind of university or research or production business centered around human or animal health, nutrition or plant sciences. Despite the obvious differences in the life forms being studied, there is a good deal of convergence and shared interest among researchers in all of these fields. The common denominator is, after all, "life."

As Driskill points out, a good deal of research involves the ways in which plants can be used to make pharmaceuticals for humans and animals as well. Indeed, the fact that Missouri has a rich agricultural history strengthens its credentials in the development of this industry. Kansas City's history reflects that
of the state. If anything, its growth is even more specifically tied to the
development of America's livestock business as well as its larger agricultural heritage.

Driskill credits the Kansas City Area Development Council and the Civic Council among others for recognizing Kansas City's life science potential and encouraging its development. Their members worked on a Life Sciences Task Force that culminated in the
establishment of a Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute. The Kansas City initiative, in turn, was warmly supported by the state of Missouri.

Recently formed, this low-key consortium includes all the key area research institutes, the universities, several of the major health care
systems, private companies like Quintiles Transnational, Bayer, and Aventis, and the area's major foundations including the Southwestern Bell Foundation, the Kauffman Foundation for Entrepreneurial Leadership, the Kansas City Industrial Foundation, and the Hoechst Marion Roussel Foundation

As Driskill notes, "The evidence is clear that Kansas City's life science base is strong."

For many years, the life sciences have been a focus of the University of Missouri at Kansas City. The
university's schools of medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, nursing and biological sciences have long distinguished themselves for their research efforts and their clinical studies, many of which are performed at the area's fine teaching and research hospitals. The presence of the renowned Midwest Research Institute in the same neighborhood has given the city an excellent base from which to grow.

Though beyond Joe Driskill's purview, the presence of Kansas University and its Medical Center nearby greatly enhances the area's reputation and attracts high level researchers in a wide variety of the life sciences to the greater Kansas City area. Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics and St. Luke's Hospital/Shawnee Mission Health System also have a strong track record in research and a deep commitment to the future.

Supporting the life sciences through entrepreneurial support are the Center for Business Innovation in Kansas City and SmartTec, an incubator created through the Kansas City Area Development Council. These organizations focus on software and information technology, advanced manufacturing and business development. As such, they have proved a great help for start-ups as well as established firm in the life sciences field.

The talk of the Life Sciences community, of course, is the Stowers Institute for Medical Research in Kansas City. As Driskill notes, it has generated "a great deal of excitement around the nation and around the world." Indeed, this $200 million project - with its $300 million budget - would seem to be the embodiment of exactly the kind of enterprise that Joe Driskill and the Missouri Department of Economic Development is pursuing. For the record, the center is dedicated to seeking a basic understanding of the way genes work and the ramifications of that understanding for human health.
Driskill is also enthused about the continued development of the National Cancer Institute Trial Center here and the building of a new production facility by Bayer Corporation.
"These are big names who are coming to Missouri," says Driskill, "some of the smartest people in their fields, with well funded efforts. It's enough to get economic development professionals very excited."