Located in the heart of the United States in the Midwest, Missouri is emerging as an international leader in the biosciences.
The Missouri Department of Economic Development, with its Office of International Marketing, is providing leadership for the advancement of biosciences companies either with headquarters or a facility in Missouri.
Missouri Governor Bob Holden has made the biosciences a priority for the state's economic development efforts, realising the vast resources Missouri has to offer a skilled workforce, central location, world-class scientists and unparalleled collaboration among private industry and universities. "We recognise the rich potential the biosciences industry holds and we are excited to see the groundbreaking work that is being performed right here in our state,“ Holden said.
Missouri excels in every area of the biosciences: from plant health to research to incubators. The biosciences also dominate university research efforts in Missouri; roughly eight dollars out of every 10 in university research are spent on the biosciences.
Missouri's Office of International Marketing staff members work aggressively to promote its biosciences companies. In 2001 and 2002, Missouri led trade missions to the United Kingdom, Germany, Mexico, China, Ghana, South Africa, resulting in new sales opportunities.
Recently, an Africa Access Conference resulted in a partnership between the University of Ghana Medical School and the Washington University School of Medicine-BJC HealthCare Systems to build a virology research laboratory in Ghana. The Africa Access Conference also solidified the partnership between the University of Western Cape, the University of Missouri-Columbia and the Missouri Botanical Garden, all of whom are collaborating to research and identify high-value medicinal indigenous plants for commercialisation and export. Such partnerships are an important reason why Missouri bioscience companies are so successful on an international scale.
These world-class scientists work for biosciences companies located throughout Missouri, particularly in St Louis and Kansas City. Many companies are moving facilities to Missouri and others have planned huge expansions to keep up with growth.
For example, Sigma Aldrich in St Louis recently announced a US$55million investment with the completion of a new 130000-square-foot facility. An additional 240 scientists joined the staff with this expansion. Sigma Aldrich is a US$1.1billion global company and the world's leading supplier of chemicals for biosciences research.
The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, also in St Louis, is a US$146million, 170000-square-foot facility that is becoming one of the world's largest and most advanced plant science centres.
The Danforth Center regularly teams up on projects with the Missouri Botanical Garden, also located in St Louis. The Botanical Garden operates the world's most active research program in tropical botany and adds about 124000 specimens per year to its herbarium.
St Louis-based Monsanto is also making its mark in the plant sciences. The company's scientists conduct more agricultural biotechnology research than in all land grant universities combined. Monsanto is the world's foremost developer of crop protection technologies and products.
Biosciences in St Louis are not limited to the plants. The Washington University School of Medicine is part of the team that announced the first working draft of the human genome and sequenced the first plant genome. The university's Genome Sequencing Center obtained the first DNA sequence consisting of 97 million bases for an organism with more than one cell in collaboration with the Sanger Centre.
Washington University has received more than US$100million in federal funding for bioscience research. The university is one of the most active collaborators on research projects in Missouri.
Kansas City boasts a number of internationally acclaimed companies, such as Bayer. Kansas City serves as the company's world headquarters for its Animal Health Division, known as an international leader in research and animal vaccinations.
The Midwest Research Institute has been headquartered in Kansas City for 35 years. MRI is a leading institute providing technology-based solutions.
The company's work includes basic and applied research and development services in health physiology and pharmacology, health behaviour, environmental health and regulatory support.
A fast-growing company, the Stowers Institute for Medical Research, is committed to becoming one of the most innovative biomedical research facilities in the world with a $200 million research facility, 16 laboratories and a current endowment of US$1.6billion. Staff members at Stowers are focused on finding a cure for cancer.
Missouri's bioscience accomplishments extend beyond research. Incentives are available to provide start-up companies an easy transition to prosperity and commercial success. And, Missouri's universities are committed to educating the workforce of tomorrow, ensuring a skilled labour pool.
A new US$60million, 124000-square-foot Life Sciences Center is under construction at the University of Missouri-Columbia. It will house 50 research labs, controlled growth facilities, and teaching and computer labs. It is also is expected to provide an unparalleled teaching environment for students.
Missouri boasts several incubators dedicated to assisting start-up bioscience companies. The 40000-square-foot Nidus Center for Scientific Enterprise in St Louis offers tools such as access to seed capital. The Center for Emerging Technologies, also in St Louis, recently completed an US$8million expansion. The Centre is the anchor for the planned Technopolis Urban Research Park, strategically located adjacent to Washington University.
Missouri's success in the biosciences depends not only on partnerships and the support of small businesses, but also strengths in bioformatics. Information technology and biosciences go hand-in-hand; each needs the other to survive. Missouri companies recognise this and are making strong advances in bioinformatics.
Cerner Corporation, headquartered in Kansas City, works with bioscience companies in producing world-class clinical solutions. Cerner provides management information and knowledge systems to more than 1000 healthcare organisations worldwide.
The University of Missouri system has established a Bioinformatics Consortium that supports collaborative research in bioinformatics and biosciences worldwide. The Consortium offers resources through high-performance computational systems and high-speed networking services, which facilitates collaboration. Users may also take advantage of software applications such as sequence analysis, and the expertise of technical support staff. Bioinformatics is crucial to the success of the University of Missouri's Maize Genomics Center's mapping project.
The goal of this US$11million project is to map the maize genome, ultimately altering corn genes to increase yields, cold and heat tolerance and resistance to weeds and pests.
In this 21st century, an increased emphasis on bioinformatics and biosciences is where the future lies for Missouri. The state's leaders are working to remain competitive and ensure economic prosperity for Missouri's businesses, both at home and abroad.
Missouri's Office of International Marketing assists companies in Missouri and abroad to facilitate global relationships and business opportunities. The staff works closely with companies to design and implement international marketing strategies in a confidential manner.
Missouri operates offices in 13 major markets, working to promote Missouri goods and services. Staff members located in the United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium, Japan, Mexico, Brazil, Ghana, South Africa, Korea, Israel and Taiwan provide invaluable assistance to biosciences companies.
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For more information on the State of Missouri, visit www.ecodev.state.mo.us
