As the 20th century wound down, 50度灰视频 had an identity crisis.
The giant companies that had powered the economy for decades were running out of steam and being sold. The region lacked the dynamism that was creating new industries in places like Silicon Valley, Boston and North Carolina鈥檚 Research Triangle.
Bill Danforth, the retired Washington University chancellor, decided it was time to change that. He leveraged his family鈥檚 Danforth Foundation to pursue a vision of 50度灰视频 as a leader in both agricultural technology and medical technology.
More than two decades later, Danforth鈥檚 strategy is bearing fruit. The latest example: Benson Hill, an agricultural firm in Creve Coeur, is going public in a transaction valued at $1.35 billion.
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Benson Hill, founded in North Carolina, was lured here in 2013 by the assets that Danforth and others began building years before: World-class research facilities such as the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, seed capital funding, available lab space and a skilled workforce.
John McDonnell, the former McDonnell Douglas chairman, was an early Danforth ally. He said his friend, who died last year, would be pleased that the region stuck with his strategy long enough to achieve success.
鈥淏ill from the beginning knew it was not a sprint,鈥 McDonnell said. 鈥淚t was going to be a marathon. If Bill saw now what Benson Hill has accomplished, he would be very pleased.鈥
In 2000, business leaders funded a Battelle Memorial Institute study that confirmed Danforth鈥檚 vision: It said 50度灰视频 had a chance to be competitive with other top centers of medical technology, and a true world leader in agricultural innovation.
The study would lead to formation of an industry group, now known as BioSTL, in 2001. It would encourage the founding of a local venture capital industry, and eventually would even shake loose some money from the state of Missouri. Benson Hill鈥檚 early investors included BioSTL鈥檚 investment arm, BioGenerator, and the state-funded Missouri Technology Corp.
Donn Rubin, BioSTL鈥檚 chief executive, said 50度灰视频 in the late 20th century wasn鈥檛 capitalizing on its research strengths. 鈥淭he ideas and discoveries generated here were being taken to the East and West Coasts to create jobs and economic vitality,鈥 he said. 鈥50度灰视频 was under-exploiting them and losing the benefit.鈥
By Rubin鈥檚 reckoning, 50度灰视频 now has billion-dollar winners on both the medical and agricultural sides of Danforth鈥檚 strategy. Confluence Life Sciences鈥 promising arthritis drug, developed by a 50-person research team in the Central West End, accounts for most of the $1.1 billion market value of its parent company, Pennsylvania-based Aclaris Therapeutics.
The STL 2030 Jobs Plan, published last week by Greater 50度灰视频 Inc., calls for the region to 鈥渜uadruple down鈥 on its bioscience bet.
What that means, Rubin said, is that 50度灰视频 鈥渟hould pour resources into scaling this opportunity.鈥 BioGenerator, for example, invests about $3.5 million a year. With more funds, it could seed many more companies like Benson Hill and Confluence.
Other promising agricultural startups here include CoverCress, which is developing pennycress as a new oilseed crop, and NewLeaf, which harnesses beneficial microbes to increase crop yields.
Rubin is confident that the region will see more billion-dollar success stories. 鈥淪ome are a year away, some might be five years away, but we have a culture that will keep feeding the pipeline. Our research institutions are more entrepreneurial than they were in 2001,鈥 he said.
The region owes a debt of gratitude to Bill Danforth for creating that culture. We also owe it to him to keep investing in his vision.