Knowledge-based EconomyAbout the KBA

The Kansas Bioscience Authority (KBA) was created by the Kansas Economic Growth Act of 2004 with the sole purpose of advancing Kansas’ leadership in bioscience.

The KBA is the state’s largest-ever commitment to expanding Kansas’ research capabilities, promoting innovation, and encouraging company formation that will create high-paying jobs for generations to come. The $581 million initiative is
designed to:

  • Build world-class research capacity;
  • Foster the formation and growth of bioscience startups;
  • Support expansion of the state’s bioscience clusters; and
  • Facilitate industrial expansion and attraction.


The KBA is leveraging its funds to attract additional federal and private-sector support that could boost the total investment in bioscience in the state to more than $5 billion.

Governance
An independent entity of the state, the KBA is governed by an 11-person board of directors comprised of local and national leaders in industry and academia.

Vision and strategy
In September 2007, the KBA board of directors adopted the following vision and strategies for the authority:

Kansas is the preeminent bioscience center in the Midwest, serving healthcare, energy, agricultural, animal health, biomaterial, and national-security needs throughout the nation and around the world by virtue of its excellent research, education, and vibrant industry clusters.

The KBA is focused on expanding Kansas’ research and industry strengths to:

  • Increase the quantity of high-quality research that has commercial relevance for Kansas;
  • Expand the availability of investment capital needed to form and grow new companies;
  • Grow and nurture an increasingly experienced pool of entrepreneurial management talent supported by organized systems of services and networking;
  • Expand the availability of capital and assistance to support product innovation in established companies; and
  • Facilitate bioscience corporate expansion and attract new-to-Kansas bioscience corporate activity that grows and strengthens specific clusters of excellence.

Programs
Through the KBA and related initiatives, Kansas offers comprehensive support for world-class research, commercialization, and business expansion to accelerate company growth and job creation in the state

Partners in growth
The KBA’s motto recognizes that its public, private, and academic partners are often at the forefront of efforts to expand bioscience R&D, foster the formation and growth of startups, and lead corporate expansion and attraction efforts. The KBA works with partners statewide to pursue specific bioscience growth opportunities, as well as to implement scalable programs developed for use by a broader range of constituents.

“We are very excited about the collaboration that has taken place with the Kansas Bioscience Authority and are looking forward to bringing new job opportunities to the local community with this important investment in our business.”

- Tom Wilson, Vice President, Thermo Fisher   Scientific, Microbiology North America