Northwest,Ventria terminate MOU

Northwest Missouri State University and Ventria Bioscience, Inc. announced today that they have terminated the Memorandum of Understanding dated Nov. 17, 2004, that would have brought Ventria to the Northwest campus as the anchor company of the Missouri Center of Excellence for Plant Biologics.

The termination results from Ventria’s business objectives, which require Ventria to have processing facilities in place sooner than possible with the current plan for the Center of Excellence.

Northwest President Dean L. Hubbard expressed disappointment in the decision, but added that the University will continue to move forward with its plans for the Center of Excellence.

“We continue to have strong support for this initiative from the governor and key state legislators, and we are continuing our negotiations with other companies that have expressed an interest in locating here.”

Ventria President and CEO Scott Deeter said he appreciated the support his company has received from Northwest over the past year and added that he retains confidence in the Center of Excellence concept.

“I congratulate Northwest on its pioneering efforts in this developing industry, and I hope the University will succeed in attracting other companies to the Center,” Deeter said.

Northwest began exploring plant biologics in 2002 as a way of combining new academic programs in a number of emerging fields with economic development for the region. In that regard, the University has been working with the state’s Coordinating Board for Higher Education and the Department of Economic Development. Center construction, which began in late September, will continue, University officials said.