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September 2011 |
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Kansas Bioscience Authority Among Many Supporters of KU Cancer Center NCI Designation Effort
The Kansas Bioscience Authority is proud to be among the many organizations and individuals that have invested in helping the University of Kansas Cancer Center prepare to apply for National Cancer Institute designation.
"Building a designation-worthy cancer center will benefit Kansans for generations to come,” said David Vranicar, Kansas Bioscience Authority interim President and CEO. “NCI designation will bring millions of dollars in economic benefits to the state but more important, the designation process is helping the Cancer Center become even better equipped to save lives.”
With NCI designation, the University of Kansas Cancer Center will join an elite group that includes such renowned facilities as M.D. Anderson and the Mayo Clinic. Kansans facing cancer will no longer have to leave the state to find the best possible care, as KU will provide top quality cancer care close to home.
The designation will also help the University of Kansas build upon its already strong drug discovery and development enterprise, moving new and better cancer treatments from the lab to the patient.
Already the drive toward NCI designation is adding $100 million a year to the state’s economy, creating more than 1,100 jobs, including 350 new jobs at KU.
The Kansas Bioscience Authority has committed more than $50 million so far to help the University of Kansas Cancer Center achieve NCI designation, primarily in the areas of infrastructure and bringing pre-eminent cancer scientists to the state. More than $21 million was invested to help KU bring in more than a dozen leading cancer scientists who are expected to generate more than $6 million a year in new external research funding. The KBA also invested $26.4 million to help renovate the Wahl-Hixon complex on the KU Medical Center campus to serve as a home for Cancer Center researchers.
To learn more about the University of Kansas NCI designation effort, plan to watch an exciting television event on Thurs., Sept. 8 at 6:30 p.m. All four Kansas City network affiliates—Fox 4, KCTV 5, KMBC TV 9 and KSHB TV—will air a special program about the exciting research, exceptional care and the quest for National Cancer Institute designation at the University of Kansas Cancer Center.
“The University of Kansas Cancer Center's achieving National Cancer Institute designation will benefit Kansans now, and for generations to come. It is a proud legacy for our children and grandchildren, and the Kansas Bioscience Authority is proud to have helped support the effort on behalf of all Kansans,” Vranicar said.
