FAQ
Why Biosciences?
 What are the biosciences?
The biosciences encompass the branches of natural science dealing with the structure and behavior of living organisms. The bioscience industry cluster is comprised of five segments: agricultural feedstock and chemicals; drugs and pharmaceuticals; medical devices and instruments; hospitals and laboratories; and research and testing (CLICK ON DIAGRAM TO ENLARGE).
Why are the biosciences important to Arizona?
Two reasons: better healthcare, stronger economy. Regarding healthcare, the biosciences offer local access to the latest medical discoveries, diagnoses, and treatments, and top healthcare practitioners. This is important to every state, but especially Arizona, where a fast-growing population presents medical-manpower challenges but also opportunities to pioneer new modes of treatment, especially through personalized medicine. On the economic side, the biosciences means good, high-paying jobs—not only in science, but supporting areas such as law, marketing, accounting, etc. The biosciences offer a stronger, more diversified economy that can help to weather dry economic times that come with a state reliant on cyclical industries such construction and tourism.
RETURN TO TOP >>
Arizona's Strategy
What is Arizona's long-term mission and strategy in the biosciences?
VISION
Arizona's vision is to become a global biomedical research and bioscience commercial center by focusing its efforts and funding on select areas of strength that are already poised to make great gains on a national and international level. These were identified in 2002 as neurosciences, cancer research, bioengineering, and bioimaging. Additional areas of excellence include infectious diseases, agricultural biotech, asthma, diabetes, bioinformatics, cardiovascular development, plant and insect sciences, environmental eco-sciences, and basic molecular and genomic sciences.
STRATEGIES
Arizona has four strategies, which encompass 19 actions, to develop a bioscience research base and build a critical mass of bioscience companies.
-
Strategy One: Build the state's research infrastructure of outstanding talent and modern facilities and equipment around selective technology platforms and core competencies.
-
Strategy Two: Build a critical mass of bioscience firms by increasing the birthrate and reducing the death rate of Arizona's bioscience firms and encouraging the commercialization of research discoveries.
- Strategy Three: Offer a business climate and environment that supports, sustains, and encourages the growth of bioscience enterprises—small and large—to start, expand, and remain in Arizona.
-
Strategy Four: Encourage the state's citizens to become a more informed citizenry in the biosciences and encourage young people to explore and pursue scientific and technical careers.
How long will it take for Arizona to become a leader in the biosciences?
One lesson from every successful technology community is that success takes time. Silicon Valley and Route 128 in Massachusetts trace their origins in electronics to the 1950s and in the life sciences to the 1970s. In contrast, Maryland has emerged as a major bioscience center in 12 to 14 years. While this may indicate that the time required to become a leading life-science center can be shortened, it must be recognized that such development cannot be accomplished in a year or two. It requires a long-term effort, measured in a decade or more.
Is Arizona on track for accomplishing its mission and strategy in the biosciences?
Arizona has made great progress in implementing the Bioscience Roadmap, primarily through extensive collaboration and a strong commitment to building research infrastructure. While there are key steps remaining specifically in relation to funding and recruiting talent, there have been noteworthy milestones in the state's effort. A comprehensive list of those milestones is here.
How does Arizona compare with what other states are doing to advance the biosciences?
Forty-one states are targeting the biosciences with the largest amounts of funding including Pennsylvania's $2 billion over 25 years, Florida's $1.2 billion, and Wisconsin's $750 million. In 2004, California voters successfully passed a stem-cell initiative dedicating $3 billion over the next 10 years to this important area of bioscience research. Arizona's commitment of $440 million for research facilities, as well as $35 million for the 21st Century Fund, is a strong down payment, but additional resources will be needed for faculty, equipment, and other assets that Arizona must secure to compete with these states.
Why is Arizona chasing the same bioscience "prize" as everyone else?
While it's true that all 50 states have formal initiatives in the biosciences, Arizona is taking a different approach than most. Arizona is one of few states to compile and put into action a strategic long-term (10 years) plan in the form of Arizona's Bioscience Roadmap. Further, Arizona is targeting its resources and efforts on specific disciplines in which it already excels—bioengineering, bioimaging, cancer research, and neurological sciences in the near-term, followed by agriculture biotech, diabetes, asthma, infectious diseases, and other disciplines. Arizona is not attempting to become the next Boston or Bay Area—regions that have the resources to compete in broad areas of the biosciences.
What is the economic impact of the biosciences on Arizona?
The investments recommended in the Bioscience Roadmap can result in the following:
- Critical Mass of Research Support: Arizona's effort to build its bioscience industry is already paying off. From 2002-2005, Arizona achieved a growth rate for National Institutes of Health grants—the "gold standard" of medical research grants—that exceeded the average growth rate for the 10 states with the greatest amount of NIH funding. In 2006, support slowed, and the state now stands slightly behind the target growth rate of the top-10 NIH grant-recipient states.
- Critical Mass of Businesses and Jobs: Arizona's jobs and firms in the bioscience industry increased 18.5 percent and 16.7 percent, respectively, from 2002 to 2006. A critical mass of bioscience firms will have a multiplier effect on other business service and supplier sectors of the economy, ultimately accounting for thousands of additional jobs in all sectors of Arizona's economy.
- Leveraged Investments: Every $1 that Arizona's private and public sectors provide is estimated to leverage $6.26 in other investments.
What are Arizona's strengths and weaknesses in the biosciences?
Arizona has bioscience assets and strengths on which to build, including:
- Arizona's bioscience research competencies and scientific platforms have already been identified.
- Unprecedented research and health-care collaboration is already being achieved.
- Arizona has a strong information-technologies and advanced-communications industry that can help strengthen the state's biosciences.
- Initial investments and down payment on the Bioscience Roadmap have already been made.
- TGen was successfully attracted to Arizona and additional signature contributions have been made by industry and philanthropy to universities.
Arizona's weaknesses to address include:
- Inadequate research and talent base with insufficient depth and breadth means that Arizona is not among the top-tier states in bioscience research.
- No critical mass of bioscience industry, and existing industry is not connected sufficiently to universities and clinical health care.
- Lack of sufficient equity capital to form firms. Historically, research has not been fully understood by Arizona's private and public leaders.
- Arizona does not yet have sufficient capacity in translational and transformation research to turn research into commercial products and processes, including patient care.
- Insufficient numbers of physicians and other medical personnel create labor shortages today, let alone tomorrow.
RETURN TO TOP >>
Innovation
What bioscience-related innovations have been achieved by Arizonans?
Arizona has been the home to national and international innovations in the biosciences. Recently, the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University was recognized for its innovative work on HIV/AIDS vaccines and treatments. TGen, in its brief tenure, has accounted for several significant genomic discoveries. University of Arizona researchers participated in international efforts that successfully mapped the rice and corn genomes. Northern Arizona University houses one of the largest pathogen-related genomics research centers in the world.
Sun Health Research Institute in Sun City has one of the world's largest brain banks, and tissue banking statewide continues to gain prominence: International Genomics Consortium, in collaboration with TGen, was selected from over 370 applicants nationwide to create a national tissue bank of cancer tumor specimens for The Cancer Genome Atlas Project (TCGA); and Barrow Neurological Institute (BNI) has established the Human Specimen Procurement Service (HSPS) to study neurological disorders.
While the state is perhaps best known for the development of the first artificial heart to receive approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (Jack Copeland, chief surgeon at University Medical Center) it has contributed substantially to the understanding of neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, and many types of cancer. At present, nanotechnology developed at the Biodesign Institute at ASU is being used to develop flexible computer display screens on a $43.5 million grant from the Army.
In addition, there is a drive to take research innovations from the university to the marketplace. During the period from 2002-07, 39 biotech startups formed from university research.
RETURN TO TOP >>
Investment
Why is public-sector investment needed in the biosciences?
Many states recognize that their economic future is strengthened by investing in the biosciences, and if Arizona is to keep up, the public sector must also invest in order to keep top researchers, attract nationally-recognized faculty, and build core labs and facilities that are competitive with other academic health and university research centers across the country. Public-sector investment is also needed to fill the initial gaps in capital investments that can leverage further revenue and catalyze private funding. For example, the state's initial investment of $5 million in TGen has resulted in additional revenues of $15.6 million, a 3.1-fold increase. In the future, a start-up seed fund generated by public and/or private investment could be geared towards attracting additional private funds.
What public-sector incentives exist to encourage the growth and development of existing in-state firms and the attraction of out-of-state firms to Arizona?
Among a host of state tax incentives for general business, Governor Janet Napolitano signed a bill on May 15, 2005, to stimulate investment in early-stage technology firms. The legislation enables "angel" investors to secure tax credits of 30 percent for investment in tech firms and 35 percent for biotech and rural companies. The program went into effect on July 1, 2006.
What is the importance and status of venture-capital formation for the biosciences in Arizona?
Leading bioscience regions share one characteristic: they are home to a venture-capital community that is both oriented toward early-stage financing and committed to local investment. Having state-based local venture-capital funds with experience investing in bioscience companies is critical, for these funds help startup companies gain a foothold in the market. Venture-capital formation for the biosciences in Arizona continues to lag behind advanced communications/information technology but is narrowing the gap. Through the first three quarters of 2007, venture-capital funding for biosciences in Arizona totaled approximately $77 million, on track to meet the Bioscience Roadmap's goal of $100 million for the year. The state accounts for less than 1 percent of all bioscience VC nationally.
Why is seed/pre-seed funding important?
Access to early-stage risk capital is a critical factor in building a bioscience-driven economy. Pre-seed and seed funding are provided to a firm in its infancy to help it startup operations and build up enough of a base to quality for venture-capital investments. The Bioscience Roadmap identifies a gap in pre-seed/seed funding in Arizona that must be addressed in order for it to successfully compete in the biosciences on a national level.
What is the importance and status of "tech transfer" in Arizona?
"Tech transfer," the process of turning university research into commercial products, is crucial for Arizona's economic development. One key area of tech transfer is the ability for universities to invest in businesses spun off of research done by their own faculty members. University investment provides initial capital to businesses trying to get off the ground, and, if the business is successful, it also generates revenue for the university. For example, newspaper reports suggest Stanford University could make $250 million from its investment in Google.
However, in Arizona this cannot easily or fully happen until voters approve a constitutional amendment. In November 2004, voters narrowly defeated a ballot initiative to allow Arizona universities to take an equity position in businesses that spin out of university research. Proponents of the amendment hope it will make it back on the ballot in the future.
RETURN TO TOP >>
Private Sector
How many bioscience-related firms exist in Arizona?
There are 745 bioscience-related firms (Battelle 2007). Of the total bioscience firms, 317 involve research, testing, and medical labs; 262 are in medical device and instrument manufacturing; 113 are hospitals; and the remainder are in drugs and pharmaceuticals and agricultural feedback and chemicals.
How many bioscience-related firms have moved to Arizona since the formation of TGen?
While there is no single list that pulls together this information in comprehensive fashion, numerous firms involved in the biosciences have opened offices in Arizona since TGen's formation in 2002, including: InNexus Biotechnology, Abraxis BioScience, InSys Therapeutics, Acenta Discovery, Semaphore Pharmaceuticals, Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Caris Diagnostics, Apthera, Cayenne Medical, Oncothyreon, Genomics USA, 5AM Solutions, Neural Intervention Technologies. Global drug-development services firm Covance broke ground in Chandler for a facility expected to employ up to 2,000. Firms are also being grown in Arizona--39 startup companies were spun off from university research between 2002-07.
What are the top-10 bioscience-related firms in Arizona, in terms of employment?
While there is no definitive list, the following pieces together 10 of Arizona's largest bioscience-related firms as determined by the number of Arizona-based employees. These figures are based on publicly available data.
- Medtronic, Tempe
- W.L. Gore & Associates, Flagstaff
- Ventana Medical Systems, Oro Valley
- Sonora Quest Laboratories, statewide
- Apache Nitrogen Products, Benson
- Bard Peripheral Vascular Inc., Tempe
- Gowan Milling, Yuma
- Arizona Natural Resources Inc., Phoenix
- Medicis, Scottsdale
- Zila Inc., Phoenix
--Source: Compiled by Flinn Foundation
Is there a shortage of wet-lab space in Arizona? If so, what is being done to address the shortage?
Bioscience companies need specialized wet-lab space with enhanced air-handling and sterility requirements. According to the Bioscience Roadmap, the lack of wet lab space, which is extremely expensive to build, is one of the weaknesses that must be addressed in the short term in order to develop a critical mass of bioscience companies.
In order to address this shortage, several efforts are underway statewide, including the upcoming Arizona Bioscience Park in Tucson and the Science & Technology Park in Flagstaff; a major expansion of the University of Arizona Science and Technology Park; the Papago Gateway Center in Tempe, the state's first privately financed wet-lab facility; a biomedical plaza in downtown Phoenix; and additional plans making progress in Chandler and Surprise.
RETURN TO TOP >>
Public and Non-Profit Sector
What is the role of state and local government in the biosciences?
The state and local role is to ensure that the required infrastructure such as research facilities, faculty, and physical infrastructure is in place to leverage federal dollars. Their economic-development role is to help find solutions to fill market gaps in ways that support, spur, link, and leverage ongoing private investments. These economic-development efforts include focusing on public-supported research universities; addressing the future talent pool through education and workforce programs; and ensuring a high quality of life, including a sound tax and regulatory climate.
What is the role of Arizona's universities in the biosciences?
Outstanding research universities are required for Arizona to become serious about the biosciences. Universities must have the capability to engage industry, directly and indirectly to convert their intellectual knowledge into economic activity; universities require policies and programs to improve technology transfer and commercialization.
What is the role of Arizona's community colleges in the biosciences?
As Arizona's biotech industry grows, the community-college system will help meet the growing work-force demands. Community colleges will prepare many of the industry's workers, especially medical lab technicians and research technicians.
What is the role of Arizona's research institutes in the biosciences?
Like its universities, Arizona's research institutes play a vital role in building a critical mass of research and innovations in Arizona. For future success, research institutions will need to partner to leverage resources, funding, and scarce knowledge assets that serve to transfer discoveries from the university to the marketplace and then promote the new technologies.
What is the role of Arizona's bioscience- and technology-related trade associations?
Bioscience- and technology-related trade associations build bioindustry through networking, providing tools and resources for companies, advocating on behalf of bioindustry, and promoting the biosciences locally, statewide, and nationally.
What is the role of Arizona's Bioscience Roadmap Steering Committee?
The 75-plus member committee of statewide leaders in science, business, economic development, and government is charged with overseeing the implementation of the Bioscience Roadmap's strategies and actions.
RETURN TO TOP >>
Workforce
How many jobs exist in Arizona's bioscience sector? What is the anticipated job growth?
There are an estimated 81,000 jobs in Arizona's bioscience sector. Eighty-four percent of those jobs are in hospitals. The 2003 "Battelle Bioscience Workforce Needs Assessment" forecasted double-digit growth in new bioscience hires.
What educational training do I need to be employed in the biosciences?
-- Source: Battelle Bioscience Workforce Needs Assessment, 2003.
What are Arizona's high schools, community colleges, and universities doing to prepare the future bioscience workforce?
High schools across the state are developing biotechnology programs that give students the skills they need to pursue higher education and enter the bioscience industry. Community colleges are also developing specific bioscience programs that will generate an industry workforce, such as recently implemented lab-technician training programs and biotechnology training programs. Universities have begun to promote bioscience programs, too; ASU, UA, and NAU have each established their own bioscience research institute, and they are working to attract and retain top faculty who will both conduct research and educate a future workforce. In addition, 2007 saw the unprecedented opening of the UA College of Medicine-Phoenix, in partnership with ASU.
What is the annual average salary of an employee in the biosciences in Arizona? How does this salary compare to other employment sectors?
Average salary of employee in biosciences: $48,674
Average salary of private sector: $39,526
Bioscience salaries are up 7.7% from 2005 to 2006. The highest paid category of bioscience workers—those in the research, testing, and medical laboratories field—saw salaries increase 12.8%.
-- Source: Arizona Department of Economic Security and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2003-2004 data.
How can I find a job in the biosciences?
Several sources offer information about job opportunities on their Web sites. For more information, visit:
In addition, several other major online job-search services allow users to search specifically for bioscience jobs in Arizona.
RETURN TO TOP >>
More Info
Who can I consult if this website does not answer my question?
There are a handful of bioscience and technology associations that can address more specific needs. A list of them with weblinks is provided below. Also, comprehensive information on technology business development in Arizona can be found at http://www.aztechbizdev.com/.
RETURN TO TOP >> |