The state’s top economic development officer says the corona virus outbreak could have a negative impact on the economy, but Iowa Economic Development Authority director Debi Durham says the state’s bio-tech firms could play a role in coming up with a vaccine for Covid-19 — or expanding the U.S. pharmaceutical industry.

The state-supported universities are asking lawmakers to approve spending four MILLION dollars to set up “bio-economy platforms” that include vaccines and drugs to treat cancer.

The state medical director told members of a Senate committee yesterday there are no cases of the latest strain of the corona virus — called covid-19 — in Iowa and the risk remains low here and throughout the United States.