KU attracts U.K. cancer research center
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and Chancellor Robert Hemenway welcome Geoffrey Hamilton-Fairley and John Robertson of OncImmune to "the KU team" at a press conference Nov. 7 announcing the company would locate in Lenexa to be near KU cancer researchers.
Lenexa, Kan., is the new address of OncImmune, a European-based life sciences company, where it will open its North American headquarters and commercial lab. The move, designed to bring them closer to leading breast cancer researchers at KU, will also bring cutting-edge breast cancer detection technology closer to Kansas residents.
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, g'80, joined KU officials at the KU Medical Center on Nov. 7 to announce that the research company, OncImmune, will develop and commercialize the technology that has detected breast cancer up to four years earlier than a mammogram in initial evaluations.
"Nearly 213,000 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed in American women in 2006 alone," Sebelius said. "For those women and their families, time is of the essence and early detection can save lives. I'm proud Kansas will be a part of these life-saving efforts."
OncImmune will create 120 new jobs within the next four years, in addition to 20 new positions at the University. It also will invest $30 million into area lab operations. OncImmune will collaborate with the KU School of Pharmacy, KU Higuchi Biosciences Center and the KU Medical Center to transfer its breast cancer technology to other forms of cancer such as lung, prostate and colon.
OncImmune was founded in 2003 to commercialize technology developed in the laboratories of John Robertson, a professor of surgery at Nottingham University in England.
Dr. Tony Barnes, CEO of OncImmune (and former employee of Marion Labs), said, "Professor Robertson always knew that the product would have to come to the United States to be commercialized. The medical community here is the most aggressive at adapting new technology."
Barnes explained that after evaluating possible sites for almost a year, the rich cluster of assets and opportunities for collaboration in the Kansas City area set it apart from other regions.
"KU's commitment to developing a comprehensive cancer center, the cooperation of IBT reference laboratories, Missouri's medical imaging programs and just the focus of the biosciences community here put Kansas City at the top of our list."
