From Flinn Foundation Sources
For TNAZ BioScience Special
According to Arizona's Bioscience Roadmap, commissioned and coordinated by the Flinn Foundation, the state needs to focus on four strategies to develop a strong bioscience hub. Here are those strategies and how Arizona has fared since the 2009 International BIO Convention.
Build research infrastructure- Through the first three quarters of 2009, Arizona researchers secured $33.4 million in federal stimulus funding from the National Institutes for Health. The support will fund 101 projects at nine institutions.
- Arizona State University recruited 2001 Nobel laureate Lee Hartwell, president of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, to lead the new Center for Sustainable Health, which will integrate research on disease biomarkers and health economics.
- The Partnership for Native American Cancer Prevention, a collaboration between Northern Arizona University and the Arizona Cancer Center, received a $15.7 million award from the National Cancer Institute to study and mitigate cancer disparities among Native Americans.
- The International Genomics Consortium received notice that it will assume a bigger role in the Cancer Genome Atlas project, a development that should allow IGC to triple its current workforce of 45. IGC manages the tissue bank for the project, which will dedicate $275 million in new federal funding to expand from its current research on brain, lung, and ovarian cancer into a study of 20 or more types of cancer.
- The Translational Genomics Research Institute released a study by Tripp Umbach indicating that TGen generated an estimated economic impact of $77.4 million in 2008, including a direct economic impact of $44.5 million, more than twice its 2006 economic impact of $21.7 million.
- A research team led by Arizona State University professor Charles Arntzen made national headlines with the news that they had used genetically engineered tobacco plants to manufacture a vaccine for norovirus, known colloquially as "cruise ship virus."
- Daniel Von Hoff, physician-in-chief at the Translational Genomics Research Institute and chief scientific officer at Scottsdale Healthcare, reported study findings in the New England Journal of Medicine that indicate dramatic patient response to a new drug for advanced basal cell carcinomas that blocks the important "hedgehog" signaling pathway.
- The University of Arizona announced that as part of its Transformation initiative, $6 million would be made available to the BIO5 Institute over the next three years to hire rising stars in translational medicine.
- The Arizona Board of Regents approved a plan to invest $187 million in the downtown Phoenix Biomedical Campus. The bulk of those funds would go toward constructing a 268,000-square-foot health sciences education building, which would enable the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix in partnership with Arizona State University to train additional medical students, as well as provide space for additional biomedical research.
- In its fifth special session of the year, the Arizona Legislature restored close to $18.5 million to Science Foundation Arizona. The funding will allow SFAz to fulfill commitments it had made to research and education projects across Arizona in the areas of information and communications technology, sustainability, and the biosciences.
- Several Arizona institutions were part of a team receiving a five-year, $40.8 million federal contract to develop systems for rapidly measuring individuals' exposure to radiation. The project, directed by Carl Yamashiro of the Biodesign Institute at ASU, also includes researchers from the Phoenix-based Translational Genomics Research Institute, High Throughput Genomics Inc. of Tucson, UA, and Scottsdale Healthcare Research Institute.
- Barrow Neurological Institute at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix opened a new facility for its Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center. The 10,000-square-foot movement-disorders clinic substantially increases the Center's treatment and research capacity.
- A research group that includes scientists from UA's Arizona Genomics Institute decoded the corn genome, a breakthrough that promises new advances in securing and strengthening the global food supply. The researchers' findings, published in the journal Science, emerged from a four-year, $32 million project.
- ASU recruited to its faculty the retired chief executive of the Mayo Clinic, Denis Cortese, who will lead a new program focused on promoting a sustainable U.S. health-care delivery system.
- The BIO5 Institute at the University of Arizona appointed Fernando Martinez as its new director. Martinez, one of the world's foremost authorities on asthma, and the lead investigator on UA's $44 million component of the National Children's Study, had served as interim director since February, 2009.
- The University of Arizona formed a Clinical and Translational Science Institute to help move discoveries faster from the laboratory into the clinical setting. The CTSI, which will be led by Fernando Martinez, director of the BIO5 Institute, is also intended to strengthen UA's competitiveness for a $20 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to join the Clinical and Translational Science Award consortium.
- The Arizona Biomedical Research Consortium and the Phoenix-based Translational Genomics Research Institute finalized a revised contract for millions of dollars in state tobacco-tax revenues to continue flowing to TGen through fiscal year 2012. Meanwhile, TGen and the Michigan-based Van Andel Research Institute finalized their strategic alliance and affiliation agreement.
- Researchers from UA joined a team of academic and industry scientists from across the country that received $44 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop new sources of algal biofuels and bioproducts. The federal funds will be matched by the private sector and cost-share funds.
- ASU prepared to break ground on the $160 million Industrial Science and Technology Building IV, a multi-use facility of nearly 300,000 square feet. ISTB-IV, to be built adjacent to the Biodesign Institute, will include more than 80 laboratories for biological and chemical research.
- A team of plant scientists at UA decoded the genome of the cassava plant, the primary food crop for more than 700 million people in Africa. Having the complete genome will allow researchers to isolate specific traits and develop varieties of cassava that are more drought- pest- and virus-resilient.
- A research team at the Biodesign Institute at ASU used genetically modified tobacco plants to produce the first plant-derived therapeutic capable of stopping the West Nile virus after infection.
- The UA Foundation purchased for $9.85 million a 2.6-acre site adjacent to the Phoenix Biomedical Campus. A 33,000 square-foot facility on the site, formerly owned by Ribomed Biotechnolgies Inc., will be renovated to house expanded UA research operations.
Build critical mass of firms- The Arizona Economic Resource Organization and a private-sector group of Arizona-based organizations have hired Sun Mountain Capital to assemble and manage a $200 million venture-capital "fund of funds" to back startup Arizona firms in the biosciences and other high-technology sectors.
- Both Mayo Clinic and Catholic Healthcare West sought approval for major hospital expansions in the Phoenix region. Mayo's long-term plans include a second hospital and four outpatient facilities in northeast Phoenix; CHW received authorization to build a new five-story tower at Chandler Regional Medical Center.
- Tolmar Inc., a Fort Collins, Colo. pharmaceutical company specializing in oral health, acquired Scottsdale-based Zila Inc., which makes oral-cancer diagnostic tools, for $4.7 million in cash.
- ImmuneRegen BioSciences reported that a pilot animal study of oral administration of its drug candidate Homspera indicate a therapeutic anti-influenza effect against the H1N1 virus, lending support to ImmuneRegen's confidence that Homspera augments immune-system response.
- After a $70 million investment to upgrade and expand the former site of Watson Pharmaceuticals, Abraxis Health officially opened its new plant on the west side of Phoenix. The facility, which will produce the chemotherapy drug Abraxane for Abraxis BioScience, will be one of the world's most sophisticated nanobiologics manufacturers in the world, and will provide up to 200 high-wage jobs.
- Officials from Banner Health and the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center broke ground on their 120,000-square-foot joint endeavor in Gilbert, the $107 million Banner M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, expected to open in the fall of 2011.
- BioAccel (formerly Catapult Bio), a nonprofit organization focused on stimulating economic development in Arizona by assisting in the commercialization of late-stage research, made its first two grants to startup companies. One firm, Casework Genetics, specializes in evaluating complicated forensic DNA evidence, using technology discovered at TGen and the University of California at Los Angeles. The other firm, Mesa-based Kemeta LLC, is developing a palm-sized breath acetone analyzer that measures fat metabolism.
- W.L. Gore & Associates sought approval from the City of Phoenix for $30 million in recovery-zone bonds to help finance the medical-device manufacturer's $100 million expansion in north Phoenix. The project, which will include two 100,000-square-foot facilities, is expected to create 1,800 construction jobs over a two-year period and yield as many as 800 new research and manufacturing jobs.
- Yulex Corp., a Maricopa firm that develops medical devices, biofuels, and a range of other products from the guayule plant, was named Green Innovator of the Year at the annual Governor's Celebration of Innovation Awards. Other bioscience-related award winners included ASU's Polytechnic campus in Mesa for its algal biofuels research program, and Ron Shoopman, president of the Southern Arizona Leadership Council and vice chair of Arizona's Bioscience Roadmap, named the William F. McWhortor Community Service Leader of the Year.
- A team of researchers in Flagstaff at TGen North and the startup firm PathoGene asked the Food and Drug Administration for rapid approval of a newly developed flu test that would help health-care workers determine whether patients have seasonal flu or the H1N1 flu, and whether their flu is drug resistant.
- VisionGate Inc., a medical-imaging company focused on early detection of cancer, announced that it would be relocating its headquarters from Seattle to Phoenix. VisionGate, founded by Alan Nelson, director of the Biodesign Institute at ASU, will occupy space on the Phoenix Biomedical Campus in the building that also houses TGen and the International Genomics Consortium.
- Sanofi-aventis officially opened its new Tucson Research Center in Oro Valley's Innovation Park. The 110,000 square-foot facility is the headquarters for sanofi's combinatorial-chemistry research efforts.
- University Medical Center Corp. and University Physicians Healthcare announced that they will be merging into a single company, tentatively identified as University of Arizona Medicine. William Crist, UA vice president for health affairs, said that the united company will better support the UA College of Medicine, strengthening its research and physician-training operations.
- CardioNet Inc., a Pennsylvania-based firm that makes wireless heart monitors, opened a new facility in Phoenix, initially employing a staff of 20, to serve the company's West Coast customers. CardioNet's devices are manufactured by Jabil Circuit Inc. of Tempe.
- Tempe-based Intrinsic Bioprobes completed licensing agreements for two of its protein biomarkers for diabetes with Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics, a Johnson & Johnson company. The biomarkers were discovered using Instrinsic Bioprobes' proprietary mass-spectrometry-based technology.
Enhance business environment- The city of Chandler approved $5.7 million to establish the Innovations Technology Incubator, a bioscience and high-technology business incubator, at a former Intel R&D facility west of the Chandler Fashion Center.
- GateWay Community College secured $6 million to build a bioscience business incubator on its campus at 40th and Washington streets. Funding came from the Economic Development Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce, the city of Phoenix, and GateWay's share of a voter-approved bond.
- The Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University launched the Impact Accelerator to move research discoveries more quickly toward commercialization. The Accelerator, which has already received $5 million, will be housed at ASU SkySong in Scottsdale.
- The University of Arizona receved a $4.7 million federal stimulus grant from the Economic Development Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce for the next stage of development of the Arizona Bioscience Park, which will ultimately include laboratory space, a bioscience business incubator, a bioscience high school, and other facilities.
- The Arizona BioIndustry Association hired Robert Green as its new president and CEO. Green, a mainstay in the southern Arizona biosciences landscape, has led several biotech firms, most recently Integrated Biomolecule Corp., which he sold to Ventana Medical Systems Inc./Roche Group in 2008.
- Winners at AZBio's annual Awards dinner included Ventana Medical Systems Inc./Roche Group (Bioscience Company of the Year); Applied Microarrays Inc. (Fast Start Award); Martin L. Shultz (Jon W. McGarity Leadership Award); Nancy K. Barto (Public Service Award); Bruce Rittmann (Research Excellence Award); and Barbara Fransway (Bioscience Educator of the Year).
- The University of Arizona broke ground on the Arizona Bioscience Park on Tucson's south side. The multi-use, 54-acre Bio Park will include incubator space for bioscience companies, a bioscience high school, university laboratory space, and residential and office buildings. Funding to initiate infrastructure improvements came from a $4.7 million grant awarded in late 2009 by the federal Economic Development Administration.
- The Biodesign Institute at ASU hired Lee Cheatham, executive director of the Washington Technology Center in Seattle to serve as Biodesign's operations director and the general manager of the institute's new Impact Accelerator, which focuses on commercializing Biodesign research discoveries.
- A 152-acre former Motorola campus in Chandler's Price Road Corridor took a step closer to rebirth as a science and technology park, as its new owner applied for rezoning the property to accommodate high-tech businesses, research-and-development facilities, and retail and restaurant buildings.
- In Surprise, an angel-investment group was established. The group, which will be based at the city of Surprise's technology incubator, the AZ TechCelerator, will enable investors to meet entrepreneurs launching companies through the incubator.
- The Northern Arizona Center for Emerging Technologies, which opened in late 2008, graduated its first company, biotech startup SenesTech Inc. Formerly NACET's largest client, SenesTech moved into an 8,400 square-foot space at the Flagstaff Airport Business Center, also home to TGen North and Machine Solutions Inc.
- A coalition of pharmaceutical companies assembled by the Tucson-based Critical Path Institute to find better treatments for tuberculosis received crucial backing of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The FDA will soon release new policy intended to cut the approval time for combinations of experimental drugs from a typical duration of 24 years to just six years.
- Economic impact studies were released by both Mayo Clinic and Scottsdale-based TGen Drug Development Services (TD2). Mayo Clinic's Scottsdale campus generates $747 million in economic impact each year, employing more than 4,600 full-time workers and supporting another 6,000 jobs. TD2, a TGen spinoff, generates $4.3 million in direct economic impact and a total economic impact of $26 million, a total expected to reach $239 million by 2015.
- Science Foundation Arizona released a study of Arizona's technology sector that found technology jobs in Arizona far more stable than the sector at a national level. Arizona's tech sector also fared better than the state's overall employment base, losing 0.1 percent of its jobs in 2008, compared to a 3.2 percent decline in the private sector as a whole. The study also found that for every $1 SFAz invested in research projects, $2.18 was invested by industry partners.
- Arizona Technology Enterprises (AzTE), ASU's technology-commercialization arm, formed an alliance with Japan Technology Group (JTG), which represents eight Japanese universities. JTG will help to market ASU-developed intellectual property in Japan, while AzTE will market the Japanese universities' technologies in the United States. The two groups will also seek joint research opportunities.
Prepare workers, educate citizens- Steve Goldschmid was appointed dean of the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Tucson. Goldschmid, previously chair of the UA Department of Medicine, had served as interim dean of the college since July 2008.
- The Arizona Science Center received a $1.2 million Science Education Partnership Award from the National Institutes for Health to support the "Pathways" program, which will offer opportunities for hands-on learning about the human body and advances in biotechnology.
- Paradise Valley Community College opened a $17.4 million, 35,000 square-foot life-sciences building, enabling the college to double its biosciences course offerings and begin teaching anatomy courses that include cadaver dissection.
- NAUTeach, a program at Northern Arizona University to steer math and science majors into K-12 education, began its second year with a full introductory class of 68 students--and fifty more on the waiting list.
- The BIO5 Institute at UA received a $750,000 grant from the Helios Education Foundation to implement the Jr. BIOTECH program, which will train and equip middle-school science teachers to lead inquiry-based classroom activities. The program expands the BIOTECH program implemented at numerous Arizona high schools.
- The Arizona Technology Council announced its backing for two Arizona STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education initiatives. The Tech Council will take over leadership of Project Lead the Way, a program to create partnerships between schools and businesses that encourage students to consider careers and math and science, and getSTEM-Arizona, an online portal that links teachers with businesses that support technology education. The Tech Council will also host the Arizona Science and Engineering Fair this spring.
- UA opened the Institute for Advanced Telemedicine and Telehealth (T-Health Institute) at the Phoenix Biomedical Campus, positioning Arizona to take a national leadership role in employing new technology in health-care education and the development of strategies to reduce medical errors.
- Phoenix learned it will host the Intel International Science & Engineering Fair, expected to draw 5,000 registrants, in 2013, 2016, and 2019. Phoenix last hosted the event in 2005.
- NAUTeach, a program at Northern Arizona University to steer math and science majors into K-12 education, began its second year with a full introductory class of 68 students--and 50 more on the waiting list.
- The Arizona Legislature's Joint Committee on Capital Review gave a favorable review to the Health Sciences Education Building (HSEB), which will allow construction to begin on the critical new facility on the Phoenix Biomedical Campus. HSEB will enable the UA College of Medicine-Phoenix in partnership with ASU to expand from its current size of 48 students per class to as many as 110 students per class. Construction of the $187 million building is expected to generate 5,300 on-site jobs.
- UA received a competitive $15 million federal stimulus grant from the National Institutes of Health to construct a 22,000-square-foot laboratory support facility to serve researchers from multiple institutions on the Phoenix Biomedical Campus.
- SFAz announced the establishment of the Bisgrove Scholars post-doctoral program to attract promising early-career researchers to Arizona's public universities. SFAz will invest an initial $1.9 million in the program; after five years, SFAz will place an additional $5 million in an endowment for the program, to be matched by $25 million from the universities.
- The UA College of Medicine-Phoenix in partnership with ASU announced that researchers from its nanobiology and nanomedicine programs will occupy space in Chandler's new Innovations Technology Incubator. Separately, both UA and ASU said that they are planning satellite branch campuses of up to several thousand students in Chandler.
- The Vail School District broke ground on its first K-12 school, the Vail Academy and High School, at the UA Science and Technology Park. The school, which will house 225 K-8 students and 225 high-school students, and is the first K-12 school at a university park, emphasizes STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education.
- Approximately 700 students from kindergarten through fifth grade attended ASU's Brain Fair on March 22-23 to learn about science and scientific careers. The Brain Fair's developer, behavioral neuroscientist Heather Bimonte-Nelson, recruited 150 student and faculty volunteers and a half-dozen sponsors for the project.
Visit www.flinn.org to view "Overcoming Obstacles," the Flinn Foundation's 2009 progress report on Arizona's Bioscience Roadmap.