Young companies flush with ideas for the animal health industry but short on capital may find their answer in Missouri. The Kansas City Animal Health Corridor is accepting applications from early-stage companies looking for expert guidance and from $500,000 to $20 million in funding. Dozens of investors and animal health firms will sit down to listen Sept. 1 as a select number of presenters explain their new or potential product, their vision and their business plan. The seventh annual Investment Forum will take place at the Kansas City Convention Center, the same spot where Veterinary Energy Technologies Inc. last year won the event’s $2,500 Innovation Award for the company’s cold plasma invention. Companies presenting at the first six Investment Forums have raised more than $150 million in addition to securing licensing agreements or distribution contracts. Success stories, according to event organizers, have included Advanced Animal Diagnostics, Nexvet Biopharma, VaxLiant, Jaguar Animal Health, SmartVet and KAVB Farm. Questioning the presenters at the 2015 forum and choosing the winner of the next Innovation Award will be David Haworth of Morris Animal Foundation, Albrecht Kissel of Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Inc., Kostas Kontopanos of Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Doug Sterkel of AgriCapital Corp. and Craig Wallace of Ceva Animal Health. Applications to go onstage in Kansas City are being accepted at kcanimalhealth.thinkkc.com/account/login. The deadline is April 17.
