Arizona Biosciences News

The City of Phoenix has begun a process to identify a private developer of a new building on the downtown Phoenix Biomedical Campus. The new building, which would be at least 100,000 square feet, would make available laboratory and office space for biotech companies that have coveted proximity to some of the Arizona's most important bioscience institutions.

Under a pact approved yesterday by the Arizona Board of Regents, the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix and Phoenix Children's Hospital will launch a robust collaboration that will include the establishment of a new academic department, joint research projects, and revenue exchanges to preserve federal funding for graduate medical education.

By executive order, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer has created the Arizona Commerce Authority, a public-private partnership intended to transform the state's commerce department and support development of "high growth clusters," especially industries like aerospace, the biosciences, solar energy, and defense.

In the fierce competition for research funding, the Phoenix-based Banner Alzheimer's Institute has been doing quite well for itself over recent months. In a one-month span between May and June, it announced the receipt of $13.6 million in grants to support facility construction, equipment purchase, Alzheimer's prevention studies, and more.

A coalition built by the Tucson-based Critical Path Institute has opened access to an online database of records from some 4,000 participants in clinical trials for Alzheimer's disease treatments. C-Path hopes to give scientists at both large drug companies and tiny biotech startups a chance at turning a long record of frustration into the discovery of successful therapies for Alzheimer's.