Spring 2011 issue of Horizons

General Topics – continued

RubinBrown Clients In The Life Sciences Industry RubinBrown asked three of its life sciences clients to provide general information about their organizations, as well as answer a few questions about the growth of the sector.

What are the biggest issues facing your industry right now? There are enormous global challenges facing a more crowded planet. Advances in plant science research and agtech commerce are, in most instances, the only path to providing sustainable solutions to these challenges. Access to early stage capital, outdated regulatory hurdles in some countries, and a growing but still nascent pipeline of agtech companies are some examples of current obstacles to explosive growth in the sector. What are your predictions for 2011 for the life sciences industry? I believe that we will continue to experience a tailwind in the agtech sector in 2011 as financing of early and mid-stage companies continues to grow. I also believe that we will see more examples of successful liquidity events in the sector, which will, in turn, draw more attention to the value proposition offered in the agtech space.

The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center Sam J. Fiorello Chief Operating Officer

The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center has quickly grown to become the world’s largest nonprofit independent research institute with a mission to improve the human condition through plant science.

KCAS Bioanalytical Research Michael Lanman Vice President of Operations A clinical research organization that supports all aspects of small and large molecule bioanalysis for preclinical and clinical studies (Phase I-IV).

Established

1998

Revenue

$15 million

# of employees # of locations

210

1, St. Louis

What are your thoughts on the growth of the life sciences industry? At the Danforth Center and its affiliated research park, the BioResearch and Development Growth Park (BRDG Park), our focus is on the plant science subset of the life sciences sector. We believe that potential solutions to many of the world’s most pressing challenges; scarcity in critical agricultural inputs, issues of food insecurity, quest for more sustainable fuel sources, fresh water scarcity, and the like, reside in the plant science space. As a result of these macro trends, there is a heightened focus on investing in agriculture as an asset class. At BRDG Park, we see evidence of this global heightened awareness of the importance of the sector via increased deal flow at our research park and a significant uptick in interest in our annual ag investor conference, the Ag Innovation Showcase.

Established

1979 and purchased by KCAS, LLC in 2009

Revenue

$5-6 million

# of employees # of locations

45-50

1, Shawnee, KS

What are your thoughts on the growth of the life sciences industry? We feel the growth will continue to be challenging over the next couple of quarters as the industry works through the issues around funding, consolidation, regulatory challenges and possibly healthcare reform.

Raise Your Expectations

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