History

1997

Arizona Bioindustry Cluster is formed as a 501(c)6 organization.

November 2000

Voters approve Proposition 301, a .6 percent sales tax increase to fund education in Arizona. About 20 percent of those revenues are designated to go to the three public state universities as part of Technology Research and Initiative Fund; in the first years, Prop 301 money is used to build the Biodesign Institute at ASU, BIO5 at UA, and SABRE at NAU.

2001

UA Science and Technology Park is named #1 research park in the nation by the Association of University Research Parks (AURP).

2001

Flinn Foundation concentrates its healthcare funding over the next decade (a minimum of $50 million) to advance Arizona's biosciences.

February 2002

Governor Jane Dee Hull appoints the Arizona BioInitiative Task Force, the purpose of which is to raise enough money to attract both the headquarters of the International Genomics Consortium (IGC) and establish a companion research institute, TGen.

May 1, 2002

BioIndustry Organization of Southern Arizona (BIO-SA), a 501(c)6 organization, is formed.

June 26, 2002

Dr. Jeffrey Trent announces that he will move the International Genomics Consortium to Phoenix and lead the new Translational Genomics Research Institute, spurred by a $90 million package rapidly compiled from collaborating public and private sources.

December 2002

Arizona's Bioscience Roadmap, commissioned by the Flinn Foundation and drafted by Battelle, is presented to the public, examining Arizona's bioscience sector and outlining recommendations for the state to become a national biosciences leader.

2002

NAU convenes the Institute of Integrative Biotechnology Research and Education to discuss ways of implementing the Bioscience Roadmap in northern Arizona. [The IIBRE later becomes SABRE.]

2003

Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community unveils Generation 7, a plan to create a biomedical and high technology corridor equipped with wet lab space along the Pima 101 freeway.

January 31, 2003

Governor Janet Napolitano signs an executive order to create the Governor's Council on Innovation and Technology, a 40-member board of community leaders called on to coordinate and advocate for Arizona's efforts to advance technology-related growth and economic development.

March 2003

ASU President Michael Crow announces the creation of Arizona Technology Enterprises, the commercialization arm of ASU in charge of helping ASU researchers obtain patents and start spin-off companies.

April 2003

Arizona Board of Regents approves a charter for the Arizona Biomedical Collaborative, a joint effort of the three state universities to be headquartered in downtown Phoenix.

April 29, 2003

Arizona Biodesign Institute (today called the Biodesign Institute at ASU) breaks ground on ASU's Tempe campus; Dr. George Poste is named its founding director.

June 3, 2003

Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community formalizes a donation of $5 million to the Translational Genomics Research Institute for research, and forges partnership to cooperate to study diabetes and other diseases of prevalence in the Native American community.

June 13, 2003

TGen breaks ground on its headquarters in downtown Phoenix.

June 19, 2003

The state legislature approves $440 million for research facility construction.

June 20, 2003

Arizona's Bioscience Roadmap Steering Committee, piloted by former Phoenix Mayor Skip Rimsza, holds its inaugural meeting.

July 1, 2003

ASU School of Life Sciences, combining the departments of Biology, Microbiology, and Plant Biology, opens its doors.

October 2003

ASU Technopolis is formed, providing business mentorship, education, and resources to ASU-affiliated life-science entrepreneurs.

November 2003

Arizona Bioindustry Cluster is reorganized as the Arizona BioIndustry Association, a 501(c)6 trade organization.

November 7, 2003

Institute for Biomedical Science and Biotechnology (known today as BIO5) breaks ground at UA.

January 2004

Consortium for Science, Policy, and Outcomes, headed by Dan Sarewitz, follows ASU President Michael Crow from Columbia University to ASU.

August 4, 2004

Governor Janet Napolitano, UA President Peter Likins, ASU President Michael Crow, and Regent Gary Stuart sign memorandum of understanding for the creation of the UA Phoenix Biomedical Campus, to include an extension of the UA College of Medicine in partnership with ASU; the declaration ends decades of debate on whether Phoenix should have an allopathic medical school.

August 2004

ASU Foundation gains approval to buy Los Arcos Mall property from the City of Scottsdale to build the future Scottsdale Center for New Technology and Innovation.

October 2004

The CardioWest total artificial heart, developed by University of Arizona researchers, is the first implantable artificial heart to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. A so-called "bridge to transplant," the device keeps heart failure patients alive until they receive a heart transplant. In the January 2005, the American Heart Association deems the CardioWest total artificial heart the top advance of 2004.

October 19, 2004

Governor Janet Napolitano appoints the 10-member Arizona Commission on Medical Education and Research (ACMER) to expand the capacity of the biomedical education and research programs of the Arizona university system. This is to be accomplished by expanding the UA College of Medicine and College of Pharmacy programs to the Phoenix Biomedical Campus, and relocating the ASU College of Nursing nearby. It also includes building more programs and facilities on the Phoenix Biomedical Campus in conjunction with ASU and one or more Phoenix area hospitals currently participating in the current College of Medicine teaching programs there.

November 2, 2004

Proposition 102, the "tech transfer amendment" that would generate revenue by enabling university researchers to take equity in ventures stemming from their technologies is narrowly defeated by Arizona voters, surprising the biotech community. On the same date, Maricopa County voters approve a bond issue that includes $100 million to expand bioscience and healthcare training for Maricopa County Colleges.

December 14, 2004

The $73 million, 170,000 square-foot Biodesign Institute at ASU building is dedicated.

February 2005

Arizona Board of Regents approves the creation of the Critical Path to Accelerate Therapies Institute (C-Path) a Tucson-based coalition of the FDA, UA, and SRI International of California; the Institute's mission is to find innovate ways to cut down on the cost and time of bringing a drug to market.

March 2005

The "Meds and Eds" report is published, outlining a strategy for Arizona to ramp up its bioscience and educational efforts, in part by building the UA Phoenix medical school.

March 22, 2005

A full slate of political and scientific dignitaries christens the opening of TGen's headquarters, marking the completion of the first building at the Phoenix Bioscience Center in downtown Phoenix.

May 15, 2005

Governor Janet Napolitano signs a bill 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.

June 2005

BIO5 and Phoenix-based World Wide Wheat L.L.C. announce a partnership to develop new wheat, barley, and oat varieties that will help reduce obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cholesterol levels, and cancer.

Spring 2005

Arizona Board of Regents approves the creation of the Strategic Alliance for Bioscience Research and Education at NAU, a research consortium of faculty and community members in northern Arizona.

August 12, 2005

Arizona Disease Control Research Commission becomes the Arizona Biomedical Research Commission.

August 2005

The new Biotech and Genomics Law masters program at ASU School of Law, the first of its kind in the nation, welcomes its inaugural class of 13.

August 2005

Together with other partners of an international consortium, researchers at the UA's plant sciences department and BIO5 Institute publish the finished genetic sequence of the rice plant.

September 2005

InNexus, a Canadian drug-development firm, announces plans to move its headquarters and research laboratories to Scottsdale, Arizona. The Valley beat out Seattle, San Francisco, and San Diego in landing InNexus's headquarters.

September 25, 2005

Vicki Chandler, University of Arizona Regents' Professor and director of the BIO5 Institute, is the first Arizonan to receive the National Institutes of Health Director's Pioneer Award. The prestigious award, made to exceptionally creative scientists, is worth $4 million.

January 15, 2006

Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust commits $50 million to create ten endowed chairs to attract leading scientists who specialize in the field of personalized medicine.

February 15, 2006

501(c)(3) articles of incorporation filed for Science Foundation Arizona.

February 26, 2006

Jerry Bisgrove, chairman of Stardust Charitable Group, pledges $100 million to the biosciences. The funds would meet the private-match requirement of pending state legislation to invest $150 million in the biosciences by creating the Arizona 21st Century Fund.

March 2006

William Harris, the former CEO of Science Foundation Ireland is named president and CEO of Science Foundation Arizona. Harris is credited for transforming Science Foundation Ireland into a global bio/ICT research model.

March 16, 2006

C-Path of Tucson announces an unprecedented collaborative agreement with eight major pharmaceutical companies. C-Path will serve as a neutral evaluation ground for drug-testing methods. These methods will be shared among the drug companies and cross-validated prior to being submitted to C-Path.

March 21, 2006

GE Healthcare signs a six-year research agreement with St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center. The partnership is expected to advance personalized healthcare by accelerating joint research efforts, which will help move research discoveries more quickly into the clinical setting.

June 2006

The state Legislature approves $35 million in funding for the 21st Century Fund, a public-private partnership to invest in medical, scientific, and engineering research programs in Arizona.

June, 2006

Arizona launches the Biozona brand to promote the state's bioscience industry.

July 1, 2006

Arizona's "angel" tax credit goes into effect, allowing investors to secure tax credits for investment in early-stage technology firms and biotech and rural companies.

July 10, 2006

Barrow Neurological Institute of St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center opens a state-of-the-art, 430,000-square-foot neuroscience tower to patients.

September 2006

The International Genomics Consortium and the Translational Genomics Research Institute are awarded a $6.6 million grant for the creation of a national tissue bank of cancer specimens for The Cancer Genome Atlas Project.

October 10, 2006

University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix campus officially opens in downtown Phoenix as part of the larger Phoenix Biomedical Campus.

October 26, 2006

Banner Alzheimer's Institute facilities officially open in downtown Phoenix at North Willetta Street and East Ninth Street, near Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center.

December 1, 2006

University of Arizona's BIO5 Institute unveiled the Thomas W. Keating Bioresearch building and the UA College of Medicine Research building in an official dedication ceremony.

January 2007

Science Foundation Arizona awards its first grants, launching a $4 million fellowship program for first-year students in science, engineering, and biomedical research at state universities.

February 22, 2007

W.L. Gore and Associates, Flagstaff's largest private employer, announces an expansion of its medical device division in both Flagstaff and the greater Phoenix area.

April 2007

Tucson City Council votes to waive the city's ban on "big-box" stores, allowing plans for University of Arizona's Bioscience Research Park to move forward.

April 2007

Flagstaff celebrates the opening of TGen North, a collaboration between TGen and NAU to operate a new pathogen-genomics and biodefense research facility.

May 2007

Nine institutions unite to launch the Arizona Proteomics Alliance (AZPA), a statewide consortium focused on advancing the study of proteins in the human body.

June 2007

Drug developer Covance breaks ground on a new facility in Chandler; the 300,000 square-foot laboratory will employ 300-400 people.

June 2007

Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche Holding AG initiates hostile-takeover bid for Oro Valley-based Ventana Medical Systems Inc.

June 2007

Gov. Janet Napolitano signs a state budget including $25 million for the Phoenix Biomedical Campus and $100 million over four years for SFAz.

July 2007

TGen affiliate Systems Medicine Inc. of Tucson is acquired by Seattle biotech firm Cell Therapeutics for $20 million.

August 2007

Classes begin for 24 students in the inaugural class of the UA College of Medicine-Phoenix in partnership with Arizona State University.

August 2007

SFAZ concludes its first round of grantmaking—which totals over $23 million—with $10 million for eight collaborations between researchers and industry partners, which commit to providing matching funds.

September 2007

Gov. Janet Napolitano is named BIO "Governor of the Year" for her support of the biosciences and leadership on behalf of the biosciences while chair of the National Governor's Association.

September 2007

Banner Health, Arizona's largest hospital system, announces a merger with Sun Health, which operates two Valley hospitals and Sun Health Research Institute.

October 2007

The Stardust Charitable Fund gives $25 million to SFAz, triggering a matching appropriation from the Arizona Legislature that will provide funds for SFAz's grantmaking through 2008.

October 2007

TGen and the Biodesign Institute at ASU team with Nobel laureate Lee Hartwell on a $45 million effort to advance personalized medicine through the study of proteomics and the development of personalized diagnostics.

October 2007

On the Phoenix Biomedical Campus, the Arizona Biomedical Collaborative facility formally opens for joint use by ASU and UA faculty and students; at NAU in Flagstaff, the Applied Research and Development building opens for use by collaborative research programs and offices.

October 2007

C-Path announces details of two new grants to fund collaborations toward setting national standards for pharmaceutical research and patient treatment regimens. The grants come on the heels of passage of a Congressional bill authorizing expanded public/private collaboration toward quicker and safer drug development.

November 2007

Two drug firms—Semafore Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Abraxis Bioscience Inc.—announce expansions in Phoenix. Meanwhile, pharmaceutical giant sanofi-aventis breaks ground on a $40 million facility in Oro Valley.

November 2007

The Arizona Cancer Center receives a $12 million grant renewal from the National Cancer Institute to continue research on cancers of the digestive system.

December 2007

Caris Diagnostics purchases Molecular Profiling Institute, the first spinoff of TGen and IGC, for $40 million.

December 2007

NAU receives a highly competitive $3.4 million grant from the National Math and Science Initiative, funded by ExxonMobil, and the Helios Educational Foundation, to establish the UTeach program, an innovative science and math teacher-preparation program.