ST. LOUIS, Jan. 17, 2013 – Ameren Corporation is once again helping the St. Louis region reinforce its position as home to world-class medical and plant biosciences organizations and a favorable environment for entrepreneurial start-ups.
Thomas R. Voss, chairman, president and CEO, Ameren, presented BioSTL with a check for $100,000 from the Ameren Corporate Charitable Trust. The donation will help fund start-up enterprises, creating magnets to attract talented people and businesses to St. Louis in support of regional economic development and quality job generation in high-growth industries.
“As a major employer in Missouri and Illinois, Ameren is keenly aware of what it takes for St. Louis to compete for new businesses and jobs,” said Voss, who also serves as chairman of the St. Louis Regional Chamber & Growth Association (RCGA). “As the region’s energy supplier, Ameren can and does play a major role in fostering economic growth and job creation.”
BioSTL is a broad-based civic coalition of top business, science, academic, and philanthropic leaders established to position St. Louis as a world leader in the bioscience industry. BioSTL is building a robust entrepreneurial start-up community based on innovative discoveries originating from St. Louis’ research institutions and entrepreneurs.
According to Donn Rubin, BioSTL president and CEO, “Ameren’s generous donation will help BioSTL scale up efforts to support entrepreneurs and foster collaborative efforts with local partners to advance the bioscience cluster in St. Louis. In addition, the Ameren donation will fund pre-seed and seed investments and support for newly-created enterprises carried out by BioSTL’s venture development organization, the BioGenerator. These early-stage investments will help transform innovations into new St. Louis companies and new jobs.”
“BioSTL is helping to build a strong environment for new life science companies in the St. Louis region, many of which will stem from innovations and discoveries created by researchers affiliated with Washington University and our region’s other world-class research universities,” said Washington University Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton, a member of the BioSTL board of trustees. “Ameren’s support of BioSTL is just one more visible sign of the immense commitment and generosity of the St. Louis business community to securing its own economic future, which will benefit the entire region for generations.”
“In keeping with our promise, Focused Energy. For Life., Ameren not only focuses on enabling life through abundant, affordable energy, but also on enhancing the quality of life in our region,” Voss said. “By building a better region, we build a better future.”
About Ameren
With assets of $23 billion, St. Louis-based Ameren Corporation owns a diverse mix of electric energy centers strategically located in our Midwest market, with a generating capacity of 15,900 megawatts. Through our Missouri and Illinois subsidiaries, we serve 2.4 million electric customers and more than 900,000 natural gas customers in a 64,000-square-mile area. Our mission is to meet our customers' energy needs in a safe, reliable, efficient and environmentally-responsible manner. For more information, visit Ameren.com.
About BioSTL
BioSTL builds regional capacity and fosters collaborative efforts to advance innovation, entrepreneurship, and new company creation that capitalize on St. Louis’ world-class medical and plant biosciences and promote economic growth and regional prosperity in St. Louis. BioSTL's non-profit venture development organization, the BioGenerator, provides start-up bioscience companies with pre-seed and seed investment funds, shared lab space with specialized equipment, and in-depth management support. For more information, visit BioSTL.org.
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Contact: Brian Bretsch, 314.554.4135