Recap: Bill would gut Kansas Bioscience Authority
May 19, 2015 | Bobby Burch
A bill in the Kansas legislature if passed would dissolve the Kansas Bioscience Authority, which has recently served as a venture capital organization investing in early-stage bioscience firms.
The measure — SB 305 — would shut down the organization and transfer its funds and obligations to the Kansas Department of Commence.
Proponents of the KBA say that the dissolution of the KBA aims to help fill a projected $406 million shortfall in the Kansas budget. The bill’s sole supporter, Steven Anderson, a lobbyist for the Kansas Policy Institute and formerly Gov. Sam Brownback’s budget director, said the KBA’s mission is better served by the private sector, according to the Wichita Eagle.
Founded in 2004, the KBA invests in animal and human health, agribusiness and life sciences. It’s invested in such companies as Flow Forward, Metactive, Aratana and Innara Health.
KBA chief executive Duane Cantrell said the current value of KBA assets held in startup investments is $32 million to $34 million, according to the Kansas City Star. Cantrell reportedly testified to the Legislature that his organization has nabbed back assets worth $19 million through portfolio companies’ initial public offerings or exits.
For more information on this story, check out these links:
Kansas City Business Journal: Kansas Bioscience Authority fans voice support at the Capitol
Topeka Capital Journal: Senate explores bill closing state’s bioscience agency
Featured Business
2015 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Eyeing a funding round? InvestMidwest deadline looms
The top investment forum in the Midwest is hoping to garner more applications from fast-growing firms in the Kansas City area. Now in its 18th year, the InvestMidwest Venture Capital Forum hosts investors from around the world that hope to hear from the region’s most-promising firms that need a boost of capital. Companies that presented…
How Meshuggah Bagels and Ruby Jean’s Juicery dealt with rapid growth
Imagine this. It’s opening day at your quaint cafe and you hope Kansas Citians like your bagels. It turns out they do — a whole lot. So much in fact that the line spills out the door for the next few weeks, spurring demand that’s more than 300 percent higher than anticipated. Pair that challenge…
Events Preview: KC Roundtable, 1MC is back
There are a plethora of entrepreneurial events hosted in Kansas City on a weekly basis. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, investor, supporter, or curious community member — we recommend these upcoming events for you. Weekly Events Preview Startup Rewind When: Jan. 4, 7:15 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. Where: Deer Creek Golf Club The Startup Rewind is a…
Recap of an impressive 2016 for Kansas City’s top startups to watch
What a year it’s been for Kansas City startups. From exits and capital raises to awards and partnerships, the area’s early-stage firms have kept Startland News plenty busy in 2016. To mark that success, we’re revisiting a list we compiled a year ago relaying 10 startups that we believed were poised to make noise in…