Last year the Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute shared their strategic assessment Path to 2025 showcasing their vision for the Kansas City region to become a global leader at the nexus of human and animal health. The KCALSI initiative powerfully calls local companies to action, requesting they play a role in the Kansas City ecosystem and work toward mutually beneficial goals for our community.
We at Aratana Therapeutics could not be more passionate and excited for the new undertaking. Path to 2025 centers around the idea of creating a hub for innovation, it endorses collaboration and builds on the already healthy ecosystem, which mirrors Aratana Therapeutics business model to provide first-in-class therapeutic solutions by exploring the intersection of human and animal health. The “nexus” of human and animal health is the reason we were founded in the heart of the Kansas City Animal Health Corridor in 2010 with the goal to take the best from human medical research and apply the learnings to solve unmet or underserved medical needs for important members of our family – dogs and cats. The intersection between humans and animals can even be found deeply rooted in our product pipeline, with several of our investigational candidates being explored on parallel pathways as in human research.
“We support Path to 2025 because we believe strong relationships and collaborations can bring together human and animal health pharmaceutical companies, entrepreneurs and established companies, and even students and professionals in STEM careers in the Kansas City region,” explains Steven St. Peter, MD, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Aratana Therapeutics and member of the Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute Board of Directors. “We recognize the value and potential benefit these efforts will bring to local people and our economy.”