MOBIO Launches BIO Benchmarking 2011
This program, originated and hosted by the Missouri Biotechnology Association, is a four-month, four-phase nonpartisan legislative leadership education initiative and fact-finding tour.
The program’s objectives are to:
- Promote engagement between Missouri’s policymakers and the state’s biotechnology leaders;
- Broaden awareness of biotechnology’s economic impact across Missouri;
- Share experiences from other states engaged in the biotechnology sector; and, ultimately,
- Sustain informed, open dialogue to facilitate bi-partisan development for long-term and sound public policy.
BIO Benchmarking 2011 Schedule
- July 10th - 14th, 2011
- Sunday Evening - Kansas City
- Monday Morning -
St. Joseph
- Monday Afternoon - Kansas City
- Monday Evening - Kansas City
- Tuesday Morning - Warrensburg
- Tuesday Afternoon - Columbia
- Wednesday - St. Louis
- Thursday - St. Louis
- Tentative - Dates to be determined
2011 Benchmark Class
*Every member of the Missouri General Assembly was invited to participate in this year's program
TJ Berry - State Representative, Kearney
Mike Cierpiot – State Representative, Lee's Summit
Sandy Crawford – State Representative, Buffalo
Tim Green – State Senate, St. Louis
Casey Guernsey – State Representative, Bethany
Jason Holsman -State Representative, Kansas City
Joseph Keaveny - Missouri Senate, St. Louis
Glen Klippenstein - State Representative, Maysville
Thomas Long - State Representative, Battlefield
Mike McGhee - State Representative, Odessa
Kevin McManus - State Representative, Kansas City
Genise Monticello - State Representative, St. Louis
Brian Munzlinger - State Senate, Clarence
Clem Smith - State Representative, St. Louis
Sheila Solon - State Representative, Blue Springs
Noel Torpey - State Representative, Independence
Zachary Wyatt - State Representative, Green City
2011 Benchmark Class outside Boehringer Ingelheim
Vetmedica, Inc.
Touring the Institute for Industrial and Applied Life Sciences lab inside the Christopher S. "Kit" Bond Science and Technology Incubator
University of Central Missouri
The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center greenhouses
Rep. Glen Klippenstein and Rep. Jason Holsman speaking with St. Louis Community College Biotech student
From left: Rep. Thomas Long, Rep. Jason Holsman, Chris Bigall, Rep. Casey Guernsey , Rep. Genise Montecillo, Alex Eaton, Rep. Mike McGhee, Rep. Clem Smith, Senator Tim Green
Group with the Honourable Dave Levac, Speaker of the Ontario Legislature TBC
BIO Benchmarking Alumni
The legislators include:
- 2007:
Mike Parson – Senator, District 28
Ryan Silvey – House of Representatives, District 38
Mike Talboy – House of Representatives, District 37
- 2008:
Steve Hodges – House of Representatives, District 161
Jolie Justus – Senator, District 10
Darrell Pollock – House of Representatives, District 146
- 2009:
Ellen Brandom - House of Representatives , District 160
Michael Brown – House of Representatives, District 50
Chuck Gatschenberger – House of Representatives, District 13
Jeff Grisamore – House of Representatives, 47
Jim Lembke – Senator, District 1
Cole McNary – House of Representatives District 86
Jeanie Riddle – House of Representatives District 20
Jill Schupp – House of Representatives, District 82
Stephen Webber – House of Representatives, District 23
Recent Benchmarking Years:
The Knight Center served as an excellent backdrop to underscore the life science research engines that are already in place across Missouri.
Former Rep. Allen Icet of Ballwin describes the process by which the state legislature provided first-time funding for the Missouri Life Sciences Research Board. Former Rep. Icet was chairman of the House Budget Committee, which oversees state appropriations matters for the 163 member house of representatives.
The BIO Benchmarking Missouri Tour started with a trip to St. Joseph, Missouri to tour the Boehringer-Ingelheim Vetmedica facility and hear from key executives - including President George Heidgerken and Business Development Director Jim Kroman. Prioritized investments in the state's public education infrastructure was a key topic here. From there, the group also visited the Nestle Purina Product Techology Center.
The MOBIO tour bus served to provide briefings prior to each stop, class interactions on what they had just experienced, and needed down-time to keep up with constituent phone calls and messages. Here, former Rep. Allen Icet and Senator Mike Parson compare thoughts.
Director Jack Schultz welcomes BioBenchmarking Tour participants to the Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center at MU.
Participants in the BioBenchmarking Tour listen intently to MU Bond Life Sciences Center faculty researcher Chris Lorson as he describes his laboratory’s work fighting Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), the leading genetic cause of death in children under the age of two.
On the opening morning of the St. Louis stop of the Benchmarking Tour of Missouri, members of the Missouri General Assembly toured the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center. Rob Rose, Director of Public Affairs for the Danforth Center, leads both Senate and House members on a tour of the Center’s greenhouse. Here, Rose explains how Thale Cress(Arabidopsis thaliana) plants are used in the first step of the research process.
Dr. William Danforth, chancellor emeritus of Washington University in St. Louis, provided a private lunch briefing to legislators following the Centocor Biologics facility visit. Dr. Danforth focused his remarks on the activities of St. Louis civic leaders in building a life sciences movement for the state.
Joseph P. Hammang, Ph.D., Senior Director, Science Policy & Public Affairs for Pfizer, Inc., MOBIO's Kelly Patrick Gillespie, and Patrick Kelly, director of state governmental affairs for BIO share a light-hearted moment prior to the dinner that featured former U.S. Congressman John Kasich of Ohio. Kasich, former chair of the U.S. House of Representatives Budget Committee, was in town to speak to a group of Midwest biotech executives.
At the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, John Kotyk, Ph.D., Research Associate Professor of Radiological Sciences, hosted a tour of the new Center for Clinical Imaging Research. The CCIR is a state-of-the-art biomedical facility that provides the latest in advanced imaging technology, equipment and expertise to support basic and translational inpatient and outpatient clinical research. Dr. Kotyk explained how investments in the Center for Clinical Imaging will expand research collaborations both within the university and with partner institutions.
MOBIO built this program with an eye towards other leadership programs, such as the respected Aspen Institute - designed to remind participants that there are many common values that draw all citizen legislators to public service, regardless of political affiliation. Here, former Democratic Rep. Judy Baker visits with former Republican Rep. Allen Icet as they make the cross-campus visit to the MU College of Engineering.
Michael E. Dockter, Ph.D., vice provost and chief research officer at Saint Louis University, and Craig Dixson, assistant director of SLU's design and construction division, and Jenny Lodge, Ph.D., Associate Dean for Research at SLU School of Medicine, led BIO Benchmarking participants on a tour of SLU's almost finished $80 million biomedical research center. Photo below shows exterior of structure.
In October, the BIO Benchmarking Class toured a mature biotech marketplace, Boston, to demonstrate how a pro-science climate drives economic opportunity and security amid today’s highly competitive global marketplace. On the schedule were several large biopharmaceutical research centers, Genzyme - a biotech firm that has grown from start-up to 10k employees in just two decades, the Center for Regenerative Medicine at Harvard, and an opportunity to interact with Massachusett legislators and key executives of the Massachusetts Biotech Council.
At Merck Research Laboratories - Boston, tour participants heard from Dr. Carlo Paravanno, executive director of the Merck Institute for Science Education and Merck's commitment to workforce development.
The AstraZeneca Research facility in Waltham rolled out the red carpet with a full program and tour on Thursday morning. Included in this photo from left to right are Rep. Peter Koutoujian of the Massachusets House of Representatives, Brian Shank, AstraZeneca Regional Director of State Government Affairs, Carol Curtis, AstraZeneca State Government Affairs Associate Director for Missouri, MOBIO's Kelly Gillespie, and Stephen Mulloney, director of policy, Massachusetts Biotech Council.
Lon D. Lowrey, RPh, Director, State Governmental Affairs - Missouri, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation served as the host for the class visit to the Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research in Cambridge. Here the group also heard from Dr. Donald Johns, Global Head of Neuroscience in Translational Medicine.
Ann Stanesa, Associate Director, Public Affairs, and David Fleming, Diagnostics Group Senior Vice President, welcomed the tour to the Genzyme Corporation's Allston Landing site. Genzyme’s premier protein manufacturing facility at Allston Landing began producing Cerezyme, an enzyme replacement therapy for Type 1 Gaucher disease in 1996. Gaucher, Fabry, MPS I and Pompe diseases belong to a group of more than 40 rare genetic diseases called lysosomal storage disorders.
Lysosomal storage disorders are considered ultra-orphan diseases affecting less than 10,000
people worldwide.
Special thanks to Al Beardsley and Costas Anagnostopoulos of Kereos for helping to arrange this visit.
