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
Truck-sharing startup Bungii expands into another huge market
Kansas City-based truck-sharing app Bungii is hitting the gas on its East Coast expansion. Several months after opening operations in Atlanta, the truck-sharing startup announced Thursday that it will offer its platform in the Washington D.C. area. The expansion includes neighborhoods in the District of Columbia, southeastern Maryland and northeastern Virginia. With the D.C. metro,…
More jobs than job seekers? SnapIT-led tech partnership trains next wave of workers
Corporations and tech startups alike are desperate to get their hands on programmers who know Java, said Neelima Parasker. “Big organizations have it embedded in their systems, and they’re dying to get some Java resources,” the SnapIT Solutions CEO said. “And don’t get me wrong: So am I.” A new partnership between SnapIT, the Full…
AY Young pivots Battery Tour to music festival benefitting those without power
With an ear-to-ear grin and his infectious laugh, AY Young admits he’s perhaps an unlikely rapper. Back from taking a shot at stardom in California, the Kansas City-born Eagle Scout-turned-college basketball player-turned performer is plugging into the entrepreneur community in hopes of more efficiently powering the Battery Tour. “We’re essentially using the universal language of…
More than coworking: Plexpod lauded as economic driver at EDCKC Cornerstone Awards
A Cornerstone Award win for Plexpod is a recognition of the evolving nature of community and connections, said Gerald Smith. “When we set out to do the Plexpod Westport Commons project, from the beginning it was much more than just another coworking facility,” said Plexpod co-founder Smith. “We believed Kansas City needed a central hub…