St. Joseph's animal health field expanded by one Friday with the addition of Imulan BioTherapeutics.

Imulan will be the first tenant leasing space at Missouri Western State University's Christopher S. "Kit" Bond Science and Technology Incubator.

Imulan's consultant, Tom Overbay, said during a news conference at the incubator Friday that the company chose St. Joseph because of its resources.

Buchanan County Commissioners R.T. Turner and Dan Hausman were on hand to announce $500,000 of those resources. The county will pitch in $500,000 in economic development funds over five years.

The incubator is the first real home for Imulan, which has been operating in a virtual sense, Mr. Overbay said.

"It needs a footprint where activity can be centered," he said.

The company will employ "as many as we need," said Gerhard Poppel, who will function as the general manager.

Mr. Poppel has worked at other St. Joseph animal health businesses and said the infrastructure to produce and distribute animal health products is an asset.

"It only makes sense to tap into those resources," he said.

Imulan has conditional licensing approval for one product to treat leukemia in cats. Mr. Overbay said the injected product, developed by a human health company, is the first to treat the disease. Imulan's work in the incubator will focus on developing immune-regulating compounds for veterinary medicine that are environmentally and biologically friendly, Mr. Overbay said.

Buchanan County's economic development incentive package requires that by the end of its fifth year, Imulan have at least 31 workers with an average annual salary of $74,000. Imulan also is required to keep its base in St. Joseph should it outgrow or leave the incubator.

If Imulan meets these requirements, $300,000 of the county funds will be considered forgivable loans. The remaining $200,000 will be no-interest loans paid back within 10 years.

Imulan is projected to have its lab up and running by mid-2009 for research and development, clinical trials, marketing and sales.

The institute has about 20,000 square feet of flexible space dedicated to helping start-up life science businesses.

Jimmy Myers can be reached at jimmym@npgco.com. Susan Mires can be reached at susanm@npgco.com.