Here are some excerpts;
“The National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, which the Department of Homeland Security plans to construct in Manhattan, Kan., will play an essential role in protecting this nation from terrorist attack. Scientists at the $650 million research facility will develop defenses to human, animal and zoonotic diseases.

“NBAF will also be a once-in-a-generation economic boon for Kansas City. It will secure Kansas City’s leadership position in the Animal Health Corridor, which stretches from Manhattan to Columbia, Mo. The corridor already accounts for 32 percent of the $19 billion global animal health industry.

“It’s estimated that NBAF will generate a $3.5 billion …”

You can read the whole article here.

This article in the Kansas City Business Journal highlights what is going on:

“Kansas State University is ready to conduct important animal-health research for the federal government, even before dirt is turned on the new National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility.

“That was the word from Ron Trewyn, K-State’s vice president for research, in a Thursday afternoon presentation at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research in Kansas City. The new facility is also known as NBAF.

“We’re ready to start the mission in 2010,” he said. “We don’t have to wait until NBAF is constructed and ready to go.”

“In fact, Trewyn said, officials from the U.S. Department of Agriculture were at K-State this week talking about getting started on some of the NBAF-type research.

“Trewyn said the university’s existing Biosecurity Research Institute is secure enough to house some of the research that will be done at NBAF.

“The federal government chose K-State as the NBAF site in January. Scientists there will conduct research on deadly and highly infectious animal diseases. It will replace the aging Plum Island Animal Disease Center, located on an island off Long Island, N.Y.

“The facility is expected to cost as much as $725 million to build, creating roughly 1,500 construction jobs and having a long-term economic impact of more than $3 billion. Construction on the building is slated to begin in November.

“NBAF is expected to have a business impact throughout the KC Animal Health Corridor, which stretches from Manhattan, Kan., to Columbia, Mo.

“Trewyn said he has been receiving inquiries from companies interested in locating close to the federal research facility.

“He said the animal health corridor — which local economic development officials say accounts for roughly a third of total sales in the $19 billion global animal health market — was a key to winning the NBAF.

“The animal health corridor was a big, big deal,” he said, “because NBAF is about delivering products that can solve the problem” of protecting the food supply.”

Here are the highlights:
“What if a tornado hit the lab on Kansas State University’s campus?

“What if there’s an accidental leak, spreading highly contagious foot-and-mouth disease to cattle in the area and beyond?

“… Jerry Jaax, who has spent decades researching the areas that the Manhattan lab will handle, has heard all of those concerns and more.

“Those are legitimate questions,” said Jaax, a veterinarian and K-State’s associate vice president for research and compliance. But he’s also very confident the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, or NBAF, will be secure.

“I would live in a tent next to the place and not feel threatened or unsafe,” Jaax said.

“… A retired Army colonel, Jaax spent nearly a decade as the chief of the veterinary medicine division at the Army’s Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick, Md.

“That’s where they work with the worst of the worst,” said Jaax, who grew up on a farm near Conway Springs.

“… When the lab is completed, Jaax said, “It’ll be the most technological and advanced biocontainment facility in the world.”

“Maj. Gen. Tod Bunting, director of Kansas Homeland Security, said he is impressed with the work of the facility’s designers. “I would equate their competence at the comprehensive level of security to what we had at the nuclear plant at Wolf Creek,” Bunting said. “I’m very confident that when it’s built, it will be done right.”

To read the whole article, click here.

“Ensuring a safe and secure food supply remains a national priority, according to an omnibus appropriations bill passed by the US Congress late today.

“The FY 2011 appropriations bill contains $40 million to fund the next phase of the construction of the $650 million National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) in Manhattan, KS.

“This is great news for Kansas, Manhattan and Kansas State University. Beyond its immediate scope and mission to protect our nation’s food supply, the NBAF will be a major economic driver for this region and the State of Kansas. Starting with the construction of the $650 million facility and continuing with the ongoing employment of a highly educated workforce, the NBAF’s economic impact on Kansas will be significant, estimated at up to $3.5 billion in the first 20 years of the facility’s use. Additionally, the NBAF will serve as a magnet for private industry. It will attract new jobs as private biotechnology companies, professionals, and support infrastructure aligns to capitalize on the concentration of animal health and plant science assets in the state.

“The NBAF will be a highly secure biosecurity level 3 and 4 facility on the Kansas State University campus where top government scientists and researchers will study of foreign animal, emerging and zoonotic (transmitted from animals to humans) diseases that threaten the U.S. animal agriculture and public health. NBAF will provide and strengthen our nation with critical capabilities to conduct research, develop vaccines and other countermeasures, and train veterinarians in preparedness and response against these diseases.

“The NBAF will replace an antiquated facility in New York and serve as the nation’s premier research center for combating agriculture’s vulnerability to naturally occurring diseases or agro-terrorism.

“Several reports, including the Congressional report, The Clock is Ticking, conclude that the most imminent threat to our nation’s homeland security is a biological attack. The NBAF is a critical federal investment to protect agriculture and we applaud the President for advancing the NBAF.

“Now that funding for the central utility plant is approved, we will work closely with the Kansas delegation and others in Congress to secure approval of the $150 million proposed for the project in President Obama’s FY 2012 budget.

“We understand the difficult economic climate our nation faces today. That’s why we appreciate even more the resolve and commitment of the Department of Homeland Security to fund the NBAF. There is no question that a safe and secure food supply for every American is a national priority of the highest order.

“Above all else, NBAF is about protecting America’s dinner table and our nation’s agriculture economy, but it’s also about jobs and economic vitality of our state for many years to come. NBAF will attract and retain highly educated, well-paid workers as well as support businesses that will cluster around Manhattan and elsewhere in Kansas.

“This is an economic engine that will pay dividends for generations of Kansans.”

Leading the Way In Bioscience
Strategic investments in the Kansas City area and the state fuel growth in the bioscience industry

Many people talk about vision. But Kansas has vision—and lots of it.

Five years ago, in fact, the Kansas Legislature set forth an extraordinary vision for national bioscience leadership and committed $581 million to achieve it.

Fast forward, and never has it been more clear than during the serious economic downturn that bold action in 2004 positioned Kansas for bioscience success today.

Our region’s research base is expanding. We have asserted ourselves as a national leader in key bioscience clusters. Entrepreneurs are developing cutting-edge products to fight cancer and address other health care challenges. Foreign companies and researchers are moving to Kansas. Investors nationally are betting on Kansas companies.

Indeed, as other states are pulling back from investments in innovation, Kansas has been able to vault ahead because of its foresight and ongoing commitment to bioscience growth.

Building on our traditional strengths in agriculture, aviation and energy, we are doing nothing less than making bioscience the fourth leg of our state’s economy and leading the state’s economic recovery.

Fulfilling the Vision
At the Kansas Bioscience Authority, the question is no longer, “Can this work?” Instead, the question has become, “Just how big will this be?!”

There is ample reason for the excitement.

In 2009, a national site selection magazine once again highlighted Kansas’ success by placing us in its Top 10 list of states for biotechnology, moving us up to No. 9 in the nation, alongside powerhouses such as California, Massachusetts and Illinois.

Kansas has been officially selected on the merits as the home of the $650 million National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, which will have a multi-billion dollar economic impact as it becomes the world’s preeminent scientific center for research to protect the food supply and agriculture economy. The magnetic affect of this designation was felt quickly when a second federal research lab announced it would relocate to Kansas to accelerate its research efforts.

The realized outcomes of the KBA’s investments in bioscience companies and research organizations are growing as well, with a cumulative impact of 1,170 new jobs, $112 million in capital investment, $46.6 million in research funding, $30.8 million in equity investments in bioscience companies and an estimated $76.7 million in new wages (through December 2009).

The result is a $7.59 return to the state’s economy for each $1 invested by the KBA. And as more milestones are achieved by companies and researchers, the outcomes will rise dramatically in the coming years.

By setting clear priorities and pulling together a range of public and private partners, the state has established a new way of doing business, and it is working.

The Vital Role of the Kansas City Region
The Kansas City region has a vibrant bioscience economy, which plays a vital role in our economic success.

Nearly one-third of total sales in the $19 billion global animal health sector takes place in the KC Animal Health Corridor stretching from Manhattan, Kan., to Columbia, Mo. The corridor is home to more than 120 animal health companies—including 37 global leaders—employing approximately 13,000 animal-health specialists.

Adding the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility to the region will further expand this sector and cement our international reputation for animal health leadership in both research and commercialization.

The area from Kansas City to Lawrence, Kan., is another key bioscience corridor.

Although the Kansas City metropolitan area ranks 27th in the nation in population, it is 7th in the nation when it comes to the amount of clinical research conducted. According to a recent study, it is in the top 10 in the nation for clinical trials and drug development activities. The University of Kansas School of Pharmacy is perennially ranked among the best in the nation, and the region benefits from strong capabilities stemming from the many spin-offs of the former Marion Laboratories.

With these industrial and research capabilities, and a strong concentration of clinical research organizations, we are investing in the tremendous potential to address international health challenges more efficiently, effectively and profitably in this community.

The University of Kansas Cancer Center and its partners, for example, are striving to bring cutting-edge cancer treatments closer to home, while offering unique cancer fighting capabilities to the nation.

We also are strategically jumpstarting the flow of venture capital into high-potential bioscience companies in the Kansas City area and across Kansas to help them successfully bring new products and services to the marketplace.

With these investments and others, the Kansas City region is staying on course with a strategy that invests heavily in commercialization, while recognizing the vital importance of R&D, because each builds on the other.

Kansas also remains committed to concentrating its investments in sectors in which the state has existing strength: animal health, bioenergy, biomaterials, plant biology and human health.

This approach has positioned Kansas to address national bioscience challenges and has created an environment in which bioscience researchers and businesses can thrive.

This weekend, the BRI will be having an open house this Saturday and the NBAF Program Manager will also be answering questions.

Here’s part of the announcement:
“The [BRI] institute is an integral part of K-State’s plan to become a top 50 public research university by 2025. It is a biocontainment research facility that has enhanced biosafety level 3 and biosafety level 3 agriculture laboratories.

“The day will include demonstrations and virtual tours of the facility, giving visitors the chance to discover what biosafety levels are and what they mean. Visitors can try on safety gear, learn about biocontainment operations and maintenance, and find out what it takes to work in a biocontainment facility.

“Visitors also can participate in question-and-answer sessions with Julie Brewer, the National Bio and Agro-defense Facility program manager from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. NBAF will be built on the hill east of the Biosecurity Research Institute.”

For more information, click here.

The main goals of the NBAF are:

• Developing countermeasures such as vaccines and anti-viral therapies for foreign animal diseases
• Providing advanced test and evaluation capability to detect foreign animal and zoonotic diseases (diseases transmitted from animal to humans)
• Conducting basic and applied research on high threat foreign animal diseases
• Train veterinarians

Here are a couple of excerpts:
“…K-State is not only one of the premier animal science schools in the US, but [includes] the Biosecurity Research Institute (BRI)…

“…BRI is part of K-State’s plan to enhance its food animal program, the efforts of which have already attracted some of the leading food animal veterinarians in the world. University officials believe the facility will be a valuable training and collaboration resource for NBAF.

“Dr James Stack, BRI director and a professor of biosecurity at the school, sees the willingness to invest in such a costly project as a sign that infectious diseases are finally being recognized as a major threat, of which animal health is a crucial component. It is also a sign that the concept of “one medicine”, the linking together of human and animal health, is coming back after decades of being sidelined by research into chronic diseases such as cancer and heart disease.

“The records are pretty clear right now that for about the last 50 or 60 years, most of the deaths in the world from infectious disease are due to zoonotics, those organisms that can jump from animals to humans,” said Dr Stack. “So, when you start considering human health, to do that without considering animal health is only part of the story…”

Kansas has demonstrated a long term commitment to protecting our nation’s food supply, and the NBAF being built in Manhattan is just another step in that commitment.

Here are the excerpts:
“…The demands on DHS have never been greater and the threats we face pose new challenges that require an innovative and focused response…

“…Today’s threat picture features an adversary who evolves and adapts quickly and who is determined to strike us here at home – from the aviation system and the global supply chain to surface transportation systems, critical infrastructure, and cyber networks…

“…National Bio and Agro Defense Facility (NBAF): $150 million is requested to begin construction of the NBAF, which will serve as a new, state-of-the-art biosafety level 3 & 4 facility. Work performed at NBAF will lead to the development of vaccines and anti-virals and enhanced diagnostic capabilities for protecting our country from numerous foreign animal and emerging diseases.”

To read the whole testimony, click here.