Tech Connect - Bio Issue by ⌘ ⇧ ⌥

A r i z o n a’ s

Technology Magazine

The

BIO Issue :

Inside

SUM MER 2008

0 13 ACe FOR ARIZONA

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0 14 EARLY-STAGE AID 0 22 GOING GLOBAL 0 28 BIO BUSINESS 0 31 CIVIC PRIDE

What’s Inside

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Flagstaff firm’s new method of pest control.

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Arizona claims its spot in bio development.

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Nonprofit offers boost to early-stage companies.

+ Features 028 Business of Bio

What slowdown? Investors still interested in state.

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Civic assistance to draw companies to town.

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Shanghai women get close look at tech in action.

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Goodyear site is group’s first to be all-digital.

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On the Cover :: The BIO Issue

Feature

Going Global

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The world comes knocking on Arizona’s door.

In Every Issue 006 President’s Letter 008 Editor’s Letter 010 Tech Support 019 Coaching Corner 036 Science Foundation Arizona 038 University of Arizona 040 Arizona State University 041 Northern Arizona University 042 Capitol Watch

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Sun Shines on Biosciences in Arizona rizona has been focusing its industrial, academic, governmental and foundation efforts on developing and accelerating the growth of the life sciences sector.

The Arizona Technology Council has many stellar members in this segment and led me to participate on the 75-member steering committee of statewide bioscience champions. With financial support and leadership from the Flinn Foundation, Arizona has created a Bioscience Roadmap that outlines a longterm plan to make the state’s bioscience sector globally competitive. Arizona’s Bioscience Roadmap was launched in 2002 with a comprehensive study by Battelle, a U.S. leader in positioning regions to excel in technology and the sciences. The study concluded Arizona possessed many of the essential elements needed to become a global leader in niche areas in the biosciences, but must strengthen its biomedical-research base and build a critical mass of bioscience firms and jobs. An update on the Roadmap’s first five years released by the Flinn Foundation in late 2008 revealed the following data on key measures: R&D Expenditures: Bioscience-related academic research and development expenditures at Arizona’s universities grew strongly in 2007. The total of $415 million represented

a 47.8 percent gain since 2002, besting the Top 10 states (42.3 percent) and U.S. average (40.5 percent). NIH Grants: Grant funding from the National Institutes of Health, the industry gold standard, grew in 2007 at more than five times the national average. Arizona surpassed its five-year goal of exceeding the growth rate of the Top 10 states. The state’s NIH funding increased by 24.4 percent during 2002-07, compared to 11.2 percent for the Top 10 states. Non-university research institutes led the way at 27.4 percent, though the state’s public universities also bested the Top 10 states at 16.6 percent. Jobs: Arizona bioscience jobs continued to grow at a significantly faster rate than the nation. Bioscience employment grew 23.3 percent during 2002-07, adding nearly 16,000 jobs. While the state’s fast-growing hospital subsector dominated bioscience employment, non-hospital bioscience firms actually grew more rapidly (24.3 percent during 2002-07). Firms: The number of bioscience establishments in Arizona increased 21.9 percent

during 2002-07, rising from 639 to 778—also a substantially faster rate of growth than the nation. Three of the four subsectors that comprised the non-hospital biosciences showed gains, led by research, testing, and labs (35.3 percent) and drugs and pharmaceuticals (33.3 percent). Wages: Bioscience workers in Arizona earned an annual salary of $52,481 on average, compared to $41,044 for all privatesector industries. Arizona annual bioscience wages increased 34 percent during 2002-07. Venture Capital: The year 2007 ranked as Arizona’s top year in generating bioscience venture capital investments since the Roadmap launch in 2002. However, the state did not achieve its goal of passing $100 million, coming in at $86 million. As has been true of the venture industry nationally, Arizona in 2008 saw further drops in new investment levels relative to 2007. Entrepreneurialism: During 2002-07, Arizona’s universities showed continued gains in all categories of bioscience intellectual property: invention disclosures, patent applications, patents issued, licenses and options executed, gross license income and bioscience startup companies. Implementation: Of the 19 action items recommended by Battelle in 2002 to achieve over 10 years, progress was made on 17, including substantial progress on 10 of those recommendations. In 2008, the Arizona Technology Council led the initiative to make the state’s tax treatment of research and development (R & D Tax Credit) the most competitive in the nation. A few years ago we took the lead on creating the first of its kind Angel Investment Tax Credit, which gives those investing in early-stage bioscience companies a 35 percent tax credit on their individual state income taxes, effectively mitigating their risk. Arizona’s weather has always made it an ideal place to live, and now Arizona’s business environment makes it the place to grow your life sciences enterprise.

Steven G. Zylstra

President & CEO, Arizona Technology Council

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Editor’s Letter

High Flying Publisher Steven G. Zylstra Editor Don Rodriguez ASSOCIATE EDITOR Tina May Art Director Jim Nissen, Switch Studio

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hey may not be the most visible but they are far from invisible. Some might even think they’ve been flying below the public’s radar. I’m referring to members of the state’s biotechnology community.

Those people couldn’t be more wrong. Consider: An estimated $12.5 billion in revenue was traced to this segment of Arizona’s economy in 2007. That translates into more than 87,400 jobs in biotechnology. This tally comes from Battelle, the Ohiobased group that has provided research and facilitation of the state’s Bioscience Roadmap. Where were those people counted? Most were working in hospitals, where many types of research occur. Outside the hospital, the rest were traced to four segments: research, testing, and medical labs; medical devices and equipment; drugs and pharmaceuticals; and agricultural feedstock and chemicals. Who are they and what exactly are they doing? That’s where TechConnect comes in. In this issue, you’ll meet some of the major players on the state’s biotechnology scene and learn what’s available now and in the future. Get a recap of what’s happened in biotechnology in the

just the past 18 months alone. While most of the companies are homegrown, they’ve drawn attention of major players from far beyond the Grand Canyon. Some have come from as far away as Switzerland and Luxembourg. Speaking of traveling, take a tour of the state to take a pulse of the action. And I’m not talking about the usual players. Oro Valley. Goodyear. Surprise(d)? Yes, the west Valley city’s in there, too. Don’t forget Flagstaff. There’s a new center in Innovation Park (where else?) that is serving as the birthplace for new ideas. One company taking advantage of the various services offered by the Northern Arizona Center for Emerging Technologies is creating methods of pest control that are more humane and without the toxicity. With so much at stake, the competition among the state’s biotechnology firms must be keen and early-stage companies are on their own, right?

Not exactly. ThirdBiotech is a nonprofit that exists to provide mentoring and other services to those firms with one goal in mind: success. Incidentally, we need to mention another first—for TechConnect. We have been honored to be the official publication to share Arizona’s stories at the Biotechnology Industry Organization’s upcoming annual conference. Known as BIO 2009, the international conference is expected to draws attendees from more than 60 countries. Now most of the world will know what we already do: Arizona biotechnology is on the radar. It’s moving into the pilot’s seat.

Don Rodriguez

Editor, TechConnect Magazine

Contributing Writers Gremlyn Bradley-Waddell Nikki Capetz Joseph Caspermeyer David Drennon Matt Ellsworth Kathy Flint Everett P. Hale Kate Nolan Diane Rechel Bruce A. Wright Steve Yozwiak Trademark // General Counsel Quinn Williams Distribution Partners The Phoenix Business Journal Tucson Chamber of Commerce E-mail editor@techconnectmag.com subscriptions@techconnectmag.com For queries or customer service, call 602-343-8324 TechConnect is published by the Arizona Technology Council, One Renaissance Square, 2 N. Central Ave., Suite 750, Phoenix, AZ 85004. Entire contents copyright 2009, Arizona Technology Council. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Products named in these pages are trade names or trademarks of their respective companies. TechConnect is a trademark of the Arizona Technology Council. All rights reserved. Publication of TechConnect is supported by private-sector businesses, and is not financed by state-appropriated funds.

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Tech Support We want to know what’s happening in the Arizona Technology Community. Submit newsworthy stories to editor@techconnectmag.com

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Valley schools dominate at Avnet Tech Games

Nearly 200 students from Arizona colleges and universities competed in the fourth annual Avnet Tech Games. The nine events required teams to test their knowledge, creativity, and decision-making, problem-solving and technical skills to demonstrate how they can make a difference in advancing business and improve quality of life by using technology to address a humanitarian need, create a solar-powered lamp and construct a virtual server environment. Fifty-seven teams competed in this year’s Games held April 4 at the University of Advancing Technology in Phoenix. The winning schools and their events were: + Chandler-Gilbert Community College: Digital Design Challenge and Robot Race Obstacle Course + Glendale Community College: AMD Build and Tune the Fastest Computer + Mesa Community College: Accenture Tech Challenge and Networking Within the Enterprise + Scottsdale Community College: Multimedia Fast Break + University of Advancing Technology: Patch Panel Madness and Project Greenlight LED Challenge + W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University: VMware Virtualization Challenge A total of $50,000 in prizes was donated by the Carstens Family Fund. Sponsors included Accenture; AMD; Avnet, Inc.; Belkin; College Times; MAXON; Metro Studios; New Angle Media; the Phoenix Suns; the University of Advancing Technology and VMware, Inc. www.avnettechgames.com

Arizona Technology Council names CIO of the Year

Three winners were named recently in the Arizona Technology Council’s first CIO of the Year competition. They were honored at an awards luncheon held April 14 in conjunction with the third annual Arizona Business + Information Technology Expo in Tucson. The categories, winners and their companies were: + Medium Company (51-250 employees): Saul Morse, CIO of McMurry + Large Company (251or more employees): Neil Jarvis, CIO of AAA Northern California, Nevada and Utah + Large Non-Profit (75 or more employees): Jonathan Harber, CIO & VP/IT for Blood Systems Inc. Each person was recognized for his innovation and creativity in planning and deploying their enterprise systems, future IT goals, management philosophy, and service to the industry and community. www.aztechcouncil.org

Arizona doctoral student wins top honor

James Villarreal, who founded ASU’s Daedalus Astronautics Club five years ago, won first place at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Foundation’s International Student Conference, a leading national aerospace industry showcase held in January in Orlando, Fla. He won in the graduate division for his paper and presentation on “Numerical modeling of a high-efficiency, low-energy pulsed inductive thruster for space applications.” He competed against six other regional graduate division winners from the United States and other countries. Villarreal is a Ph.D. student and graduate teaching associate in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. www.fulton.asu.edu

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Close+up : A Collection of Briefings Focusing on Significant Topics Affecting Technology.

Pest Control Without Poison Writing by :: Everett P. Hale

Flagstaff company specializes in humane management of the world’s animal population

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TEAM SenesTech Inc. was founded in 2002 in Flagstaff and is based on technology licensed from The University of Arizona. + ContraPest can replace the use of poisons in a world market that can lose up to 33 percent of crops because of rodent infestations. Annual sales are projected to supplant current poison products within three years, with annual revenue in excess of $1 billion. + Each bait formulation is species specific and only has enough of the active ingredient to sterilize the target animal. Like most bait stations, the ones that will be the receptacles for ContraPest will restrict access to small mammals only. + If a child/adult/pet ate the bait, it would take an inordinate amount of the bait over several days to have an adverse effect. Also, the bait contains a harmless chemical that gives it a very unpleasant bitter taste to humans, making the bait unpalatable.

ne year after Flagstaff-based SenesTech unveiled its revolutionary technology to manage the rice rat population, the company heads to BIO 2009 in Atlanta to unveil impressive results, international alliances and its new formula. SenesTech is a platform biotechnology company specializing in humane animal population management, from wildlife to companion animals. Its technology—believed to be the first of its kind—accelerates the natural depletion of eggs in the mammalian ovary, resulting in ovarian failure and sterility. The protocol has been refined so it does not cause systemic toxicity or have adverse side effects. And, it is environmentally neutral, so it does not affect the food chain. More than half of the world’s 6 billion people rely on rice as a primary food source, and Southeast Asia produces more than 84 percent of the commodity. But 20 to 33 percent of the Southeast Asian rice crop is damaged by rodents. In just one growing season, SenesTech’s unique product, ContraPestTM, can dramatically reduce the rice rat population and thus the devastation caused by this pest. SenesTech President Cheryl A. Dyer, is the lead scientist for development of commercial delivery of the technology. She notes, “A mere 10 percent increase in rice production will feed an additional 380 million people.”

The government of Australia was so impressed with the technology that SenesTech recently entered into a strategic alliance to serve the needs of Australia and New Zealand, as well as Southeast Asia, in rodent population management. Domestic and international patents are pending. SenesTech continues to develop strategic partnerships with international industry partners, nonprofit institutions and universities with the goal of developing marketable products within 15 months. Co-founders Dyer and Loretta P. Mayer, will head to Indonesia this summer to complete the next phase of testing on ContraPest. Results from their first trip last October 2008 were better than expected, owing to a formula developed by Dyer

Another SenesTech product, ChemSpay™, is currently under development. “It promises to be a nonsurgical sterilant that is safe and permanently effective in female cats and dogs,” Dyer says. “The potential for such a product to combat companion animal overpopulation is vast.” A humane method for population management of wild animals such as deer, coyotes, foxes, raccoons, horses, buffalo and elk, as well as feral dogs and cats, represents potential future target

The potential for such a product to combat companion animal overpopulation is vast. - SenesTech President Cheryl A. Dyer in her Flagstaff laboratory. The upcoming trip will test the ContraPest bait to determine if rice rats like the taste. “Initial laboratory tests indicate they do,” Dyer says. The testing this summer will be done in the laboratories provided to SenesTech by the Indonesian government. Pending a successful outcome, Mayer and Dyer will return in September to test the bait in the fields.

markets. At an international meeting in Washington, D.C., in November 2006, scientists determined that ChemSpay was the only irreversible product in development that can adequately address dog and cat overpopulation. + Get Connected www.senestech.com

Everett P. Hale is SenesTech’s chief executive officer

Close+up rizona’s reputation for collaboration and accessibility is deserved: Across the state, people in academic, industry, research and the public sector work together. The result: significant growth in the number of bioscience firms, employees and wages for bioscience workers— achievements that establish a strong foundation for a thriving bioscience industry. “The biosciences represent a significant contributor that’s critical to Arizona’s global competitiveness,” says Kent Ennis, interim director of the Arizona Department of Commerce. “The state’s capacity for developing ideas, commercializing discoveries and stimulating long-term investment are represented in the biosciences.” Today’s economic turmoil presents a golden opportunity for the leaders who remain focused on a long-term action plan. Arizona is targeting signature opportunities. Molecular diagnostics and drug discovery is one of the fastest-growing market sectors in the biosciences and one of Arizona’s top niches. Many signs are there: the research achievements of the Translational Genomics Research Institute, the acquisition by Roche of Ventana Medical Systems, and the attention from big pharma that the Critical Path Institute has attracted to Arizona, to name just three.

Arizona finds a key place in molecular diagnostics and drug discovery Writing By :: David drennon

and gene regulation tied to plant sciences at University of Arizona, biosignatures and evolutionary biology at Arizona State University and microbial genomics at Northern Arizona University. Cancer research in Arizona brings a strong focus on molecular-based therapeutics, vaccines and diagnostics, along with a focus on earlystage clinical trials. InNexus Biotechnology develops early-stage cancer drugs, and in December 2006 moved its Canadian headquarters to The Mayo Clinic campus in Scottsdale. “We have found the universities and the largerthan-expected health-services industry in the state amply provide qualified talent for drug development companies such as ours,” says Jeff Morhet, InNexus chairman, CEO and president. Today, the bulk of InNexus’s team and facilities are in

Arizona where the company is actively involved with multiple universities and collaborations. Says Morhet: “The fostering of these types of organizations plays a critical role in the evolution and rapid growth of the Arizona biosciences landscape.” Adds Bob Eaton: “Arizona is becoming widely viewed as having the research infrastructure and critical mass of companies necessary to sustain a dynamic bioscience industry.” Eaton is president and CEO of the Arizona BioIndustry Association, the state’s trade association to enhance the environment for the growth and success of bioscience companies.

Pipeline to tomorrow “Essential in Arizona’s success has been the critical connection between education and workforce development,” Ennis says. “The engagement of educators at all levels

illustrates why Arizona is, and will continue to be, a magnet for bioscience employers.” Arizona already has begun the work of making its educational goals meet the real-life demands of today’s economy and job market. Its universities and community colleges are more than academic centers—they’re economic engines that produce a smart, skilled workforce. The biosciences will produce highwage jobs that will expand the tax base, increase per capita income and promote Arizona’s globally competitive business environment. “There are a growing number of bioscience companies in Arizona,” notes Eaton. “But the statistics on funding, industry size and job growth don’t begin to address the worldchanging significance of many of the medical, agricultural and energy-related products being developed today in Arizona by these companies.”

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Job growth in Arizona in the molecular-based diagnostics and drug discovery segment was 32 percent from 2001 to 2005 – with key patent clusters in molecularbased assays and molecularbased drug development across companies such as Molecular Profiling Inc., Ventana Medical Systems, Amersham Biosciences, ImaRx Therapeutics and Sensys Medical. Significant basic genomic research strengths are found at Arizona’s universities, including genomic mapping, epigenetics

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Fan Gao, production manager at InNexus, at work in the company’s lab.

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A Helping Hand Writing By :: Kathy flint

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ThirdBiotech lends support and guidance to early-start companies and scientists

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cientists don’t operate alone, nor are they practicing a personal art; they live and breathe in a society and their connectedness to this society often is what determines their success. This social aspect of science is often overlooked, but is a building block for technology, invention and the life science industry. Arizona and its emerging life science industry is poised to capture and support a great portion of the greater science community by recognizing and supporting its scientific society with novel relationships and support for one another. One organization, emerging from the private sector, is ThirdBiotech, a 501(c)(3) not for profit whose main goal is to build Arizonabased biotech companies. The founder of ThirdBiotech is Jeff Morhet, chairman and CEO of InNexus Biotechnology, a publicly traded drug development company with operations in Arizona. “The history and success of the life science industry is filled with success stories that are exploited but may not be understood, breakthroughs where a scientific puzzle has been solved, and stories of outstanding founders, CEOs and scientists,” Morhet says. “ What’s often not known is that the work is hard, long, sometimes unrewarding and that the vast majority of new medications and technology discovered

Jeff Morhet (right), chairman and CEO of InNexus Biotechnology, and Thomas J. Kindt, chief scientific officer

and developed occurs at small, yet-to-be-discovered companies. ThirdBiotech was created as a resource for those companies.”

Formula for success ThirdBiotech has combined the best practices from 30 years of the biotech industry with a modern entrepreneurial mentality and has assembled the experts, curriculum and resources to assist bioentrepreneurs. To understand the needs of earlystage companies and work with them directly, ThirdBiotech identifies the activities and goals early researchers need to be focused on achieving. Early-stage companies, often with single scientists in the beginning, have to struggle against great odds to succeed. The failure rate is high. “ThirdBiotech assists in supporting not just the science but the product-development methods and business needs,” Morhet says. ThirdBiotech then provides mentors, guidance, a customizable scientific roadmap called BioLOGIC™ (http:// www.thirdbiotech.com/ BioLOGIC/) and helps identify resources, such as low-cost labs and experts to help the emerging company. ThirdBiotech also partners with industry, such as

VentureBeacon™, to assist in evaluating and valuing the earlystage ventures, adding credibility and immediate resources to the early researchers. According to Morhet, the approach already has been copied by a number of organizations, and assembles resources along with a game plan for the scientist to follow. This planning allows for the scientist to focus on research and development while demonstrating achievement for watchful seed and venture investors.

Education is key The key to building and sustaining scientific leadership in Arizona is education. Some of the innovative solutions developed to introduce young scientists are programs that continue to build on the scientific society. Here are some examples: + LABapprentice. A competitive summer intern program in which the interns are challenged each week and reviewed by a panel of scientific and corporate leaders. They are given guidance and an opportunity to be spotlighted via video, with episodes available at www. labapprentice.com. Viewers may tune in each week and watch the progress of the

interns and get insights from the expert panel and board. + Biotech Billionaire®. A board game developed to teach and represent the biotech industry. The aim of the game is to teach players the concepts of venture capitalists, IPOs and the biotech industry. Players employ concepts of balancing scientific R&D study with business efforts, such as fund raising; incentivizing and sometimes disciplining scientists; cash flow; venture capital; and product development, and wrapping up everything in a package to present to the Food and Drug Administration. + ASU and UofA biotech clubs. The clubs’ mission is to bridge the gap between industry and academia by building relationships with companies operating in the biotech and healthcare sphere. The student-led clubs focus on events that provide members with opportunities to explore the world of business and life sciences. Part of each club’s plan has a forum for students to work together and showcase their energy and creative talents as they prepare for their life beyond the university.

+ Get Connected www.thirdbiotech.com

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UofA’s Innovation Day recognizes best in class The best and brightest innovators among University of Arizona faculty and students were honored at the university’s sixth annual Innovation Day. The March 24 event recognized faculty and students for outstanding contributions in research and technology commercialization. Five faculty members were recognized for their leadership in technology innovation. They were: Jennifer Kehlet Barton - associate professor and director of the ARL division of biomedical engineering and chair of the biomedical engineering graduate interdisciplinary program. Charles Falco - professor of optical sciences and chair of condensed matter physics. Eugene W. Gerner - professor of cell biology and anatomy, professor of biochemistry and molecular biophysics, and director of the

gastrointestinal cancer program at the Arizona Cancer Center. Emmanuel Katsanis – head of the division of pediatric hematology/ oncology, Louise Thomas Endowed Chair in pediatric cancer research and professor of pediatrics, pathology and immunobiology. Jonathan Overpeck - co-director of the Institute for Environment and Society, professor of geosciences and professor of atmospheric sciences. At the Technology Innovation Awards luncheon, recognition was given to faculty members and students who excelled in technology transfer and the application of their research into marketable products. They were: Faculty honoree Victor J. Hruby, regents professor of chemistry at The University of Arizona, for his work in the development of new technologies and companies that utilize peptides

and combinatorial chemistry. Hruby commercialized the “one-bead-onecompound” approach to combinatorial drug discovery and founded Selectide Corp., one of the first University of Arizona spin-offs and biotechnology companies in Tucson. Selectide is now a thriving unit of Sanofi-Aventis with more than 70 employees. Student honoree Pouria Valley, a Ph.D. student in the College of Optical Sciences, for his work in the development of a new optical zoom technology and his efforts to take it to market. Pouria went to the McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship and developed a business plan for this innovative technology. Several companies, including Nokia, have expressed interest in investing in his start-up venture. Pouria is now in the process of finishing a prototype and securing intellectual properties with the help of the Office of Technology Transfer. Lifetime Achievement Award winner Michael A. Cusanovich for his work in

building the Bioindustry Organization of Southern Arizona. Besides serving as the group’s president, he is regents professor of biochemistry and molecular biophysics, vice president for research and graduate studies emeritus, and director of the Arizona Research Labs. The non-profit trade group supports the creation, operation and expansion of biotech enterprises and the commercialization of university-based technologies in southern Arizona. Innovation Day was hosted by the University of Arizona Office of Economic Development and the Arizona Center for Innovation. It was sponsored by the Arizona Technology Council; Eller College of Management-McGuire Entrepreneur Program; Hayes Soloway PC; Hecker & Muehlebach, PLLC; Raytheon Missile Systems; Snell & Wilmer LLP; Southern Arizona Tech Council; Solstice Capital; Spectrum Printing; The University of Arizona; The University of Arizona Office of Technology Transfer; and Tucson Electric Power.

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Do you need to secure venture capital, protect or license intellectual

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Researchers work in one of the labs at TGen in downtown Phoenix.

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Alliance in science

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Writing By :: Steve yozwiak

Arizona’s TGen joins with Michigan’s Van Andel Research Institute to promote science and health worldwide

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he Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) is counting down to July 1. That’s when Phoenixbased TGen and Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) are set to complete a strategic alliance that will enable both to maximize their worldwide contributions to science and health. The non-profit research institutes jointly announced the initiation of an “alliance and affiliation agreement,’’ which should be completed this summer. The partnership will enable both research institutes to speed up their mutual goals of moving research discoveries about cancer and other debilitating medical conditions as quickly as possible from laboratories to patient care. “Combining many of the scientific, educational, financial and business potentials of TGen and VARI will advance the research of both institutions

and enhance the economic development of both Arizona and western Michigan,’’ says Dr. Jeffrey Trent, president and scientific director of TGen since its founding in 2002. “This alliance will elevate both organizations in the world of scientific research,” says Trent, who will retain his roles at TGen, but upon implementation of the agreement also will become president and research director of VARI. VARI is the research arm of the Van Andel Institute (VAI), established in 1996 as a philanthropic research and educational organization by the now-deceased Jay and Betty Van Andel. “We are excited to welcome Dr. Trent and TGen as they combine forces with us in our mission to conquer cancer and human disease,’’ says VARI Chairman and CEO David Van Andel. “This alliance demonstrates that VARI and TGen are at the forefront of redefining a borderless, collaborative, national and

international scientific community that transcends geographical limitations.” The alliance combines the groundbreaking basic research expertise of VARI with the cutting-edge translational genomics and analysis of TGen. In Michigan, Trent will replace Dr. George Vande Woude, who in 1998 was appointed founding director of VARI. Vande Woude, a member of the prestigious National Academy of Sciences, will remain at VARI as head of the Laboratory of Molecular Oncology. After holding toplevel administrative posts at the National Cancer Institute since the early 1980s, he will fulfill a long-held desire to return fulltime to laboratory research. “This is a great moment for both institutions. I have known Dr.Trent professionally for nearly 20 years and have always admired him as one of the nation’s leading scientists. One of Dr. Trent’s greatest attributes is bringing together researchers from many

disciplines to work on problems that will improve human health,” Vande Woude says. TGen is dedicated to conducting groundbreaking research with life-changing results. Research at TGen focuses on helping patients who have cancer, neurological disorders, diabetes and infectious diseases. TGen is on the cutting edge of translational research, in which investigators unravel the genetic basis of complex diseases and medical conditions. VARI opened its facility in 2000. Its 18 research laboratories are primarily dedicated to molecular cancer research, but it also focuses on conditions such as diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, osteoporosis and heart disease. VARI will open a 240,000-square-foot building expansion this fall, which will allow it to broaden its efforts to include additional neurological disorders and chronic illnesses. VARI’s primary work has been in basic research—looking for what causes disease in individual cells—and using that information to identify “biomarkers” to help predict and diagnose disease, leading to the development of safer, more effective drugs. “TGen is poised to translate the discoveries generated in laboratories from both organizations into real solutions for patients,’’ says Dr. Daniel Von Hoff, TGen’s physician in chief. “This is a terrific opportunity to work together and increase our chances of making a difference for our patients.” Steve Yozwiak is the senior science writer for the Translational Genomics Research Institute.

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The NACET facility in Flagstaff

-Tom Rainey, NACET president and CEO on the high level of technological expertise in northern Arizona

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There were a lot of fantastic ingredients swirling around.

f you build office space and a dynamic support network to incubate hightech startups, they will come. That’s what Flagstaffbased NACET, or Northern Arizona Center for Emerging Technologies, is finding. The small-business assistance program helps fledgling firms in the high-tech, renewable energy and science sectors make a go of it in the state’s northern climes. The main goal is job creation, and that is happening. In fact, some 49 high-paying jobs throughout the state can trace their origins to the center Operating out of a LEEDcertified, 10,000-square-foot

Northern Exposure Emerging technologies center in Flagstaff helps fledging businesses make a go of it writing by :: Gremlyn Bradley-Waddell

headquarters that opened last October on McMillan Mesa in the city’s Innovation Park, the center provides consulting, mentoring and leased office and lab space for resident clients, as well as a host of other services. And the group seems to have the magic touch. Clients collectively have raised several million dollars thus far, through venture capitalists and angel investors, according to president and CEO Tom Rainey. But if the notion of such an organization seems a bit at odds with the outdoorsy environs and boho vibe of the cozy college town, well, even Rainey cops to initial skepticism. “I had images of the Grand Canyon, hot air balloons floating through Sedona,” says Rainey, an incubator specialist who came to NACET in 2007 and previously headed the Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies. “High tech was not the first thing that sprang to mind.” Nevertheless, Rainey says he was “shocked” and pleasantly surprised by what a feasibility study showed: that the state’s northern reaches have an “astounding” level of expertise; there’s an impressive number of doctorate degrees per capita;

and that there are several important “technology feeders,” notably the Lowell Observatory, the U.S. Geological Survey and, of course, Northern Arizona University. Add to that a good number of second-home owners –which could translate into a nice number of angel investors nearby–and Rainey says he was wowed. “There were a lot of fantastic ingredients swirling around,” he says. However, there was also no margin for error as NACET took shape, he notes. The agency originally had been founded in 2001 as the Northern Arizona Technology & Business Incubator (or NATBI), but branding issues surfaced and led to the name change and other modifications about two years ago. Rainey says one of the first changes he made was to tighten the client-selection criteria, which is critical to attracting and retaining investors. He also says it became apparent that this incubator would need to be proactive and not wait for opportunities to come knocking. A good example of that can-do attitude, he says, is the recent team of center consultants who approached the U.S. Geological Survey office and suggested they conduct a

technical audit. The proposal was welcomed, and Rainey says that’s how incubators and businesses in general need to “drill into the assets we have.” “This is an economic garden,” he says, adding that a plethora of volunteers and NACET’s partnerships with the city of Flagstaff, NAU, the Northern Arizona Council of Governments and other area businesses also make its work fruitful. “This is a new way of doing economic development.” Everett Hale, CEO of SenesTech, Inc., a biotech firm that develops non-surgical ways to control rodent and wildlife populations, says he takes advantage of just about every service NACET offers and he’s found them all beneficial. SenesTech is also one of the three fully moved-in clients at the McMillan Mesa site, and Hale can’t wait for the several other clients to take up residence, too. “There’s a synergy of working together with CEOs of other biotechs,” Hale says, adding that he’s looking forward to sharing coffee and ideas with folks across the hall. “A bunch of little companies, all talking together, will create a whole lot of success.”

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Coaching Corner: Talking to Yourself Writing by :: Nikki Capetz

What are you telling yourself? Are you “on your case” or “on your side”? Does it matter? Some leaders have faulty evaluation systems. They are rarely satisfied when they are successful and are overly critical of their performance even when they win. Many leaders won’t admit they are hard on themselves, but they believe it is the only way to push themselves to their best performance. There are three major consequences of being on your case rather than on your side: + You are never satisfied with

your performance, and this has a negative impact on your self-confidence. + Because things are regularly less than you had hoped for, you are miserable, unhappy and tense. + Unconsciously, you treat others the way you treat yourself: overly critical, picky, negative and never satisfied Frequently, the leader who is on his case is blinded to the problems inherent in his leadership style. If you think this is you, answer this question: Using a scale of 1 to 100, what percentage of the time are you on your case instead of on your side? You have a faulty evaluation system if after every situation you determine that you should have had better effort, higher quality and faster delivery.

How to Change The best way to change from being on your case to being on your side is to first notice how you behave and then turn the evaluation into a learning and

action plan. Here are some samples of whipping statements and remarks that redirect your self-evaluation to on your side: On Your Case + How could I be so lame? + I should have known better. + I’m an idiot for doing this. On Your Side (redirecting your habit) + What can I learn from his performance? + What will I have to improve this time? + Is there anything I could have done differently? + How will I make sure I stay on track?

Reflecting on Your Thinking Part of being more confident is to be awake and aware when you ask yourself internal questions. Let your brain search its files for a more positive, constructive and useful answer. The following questions and actions can help:

Be more aware of the questions you ask yourself. Write them down and collect them over a week. Ask your questions out loud. Listen and then evaluate what you are really asking your brain to search for. + Are your questions positive or negative? + What kind of answers are you getting? + Are you using overgeneralized words such as “always” and “never”? Paying attention to what you are telling yourself and making modifications where necessary will make you a better more effective leader. Give it a try! Excerpted from “Leaders Playbook” by Reldan S. Nadler. As an executive coach and business consultant, Nikki Capetz of Catalyst Systems, LLC assists entrepreneurs, executives and management teams in corporations and non-profit organizations to reach their personal and professional goals. She has more than 20 years of experience within the IT industry. She can be reached at 602-647-3220 or nikki@catalystsystems.biz.

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Value Through Emerging Technologies

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Research To reality Writing By :: david drennon

Arizona company now commercializing technology

hat car chase you see on the evening newscast may come to a quicker end because of technology developed by an Arizona company. With SQUID, or Safe Quick Undercarriage Immobilization Device, no longer would it be necessary for law enforcement officers to throw down tack strips while dodging a suspect’s vehicle. Instead, the SQUID could be engaged, bringing the chase to a sudden stop while protecting officers’ lives. Resembling a pockmarked cheese wheel, the device deploys a series of tentacles that entangle the

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Students from throughout Arizona traded ideas and answers as they did their best to be No. 1 at the Middle School Science Bowl held at Arizona State University. The team from Madison Park Elementary School in Phoenix earned the first place title at the Feb. 28 event, giving them the right to go the National Science Bowl that begins in late April. It will be the second trip to the national competition for Madison Park, which went last year when the Arizona event’s actual winner, BASIS Scottsdale Team #1, couldn’t attend the 2008 event.

rotating components in the undercarriage of a target vehicle while safely bringing the vehicle to a quick, sudden stop. Engineering Science Analysis Manufacturing & Design has signed a licensing agreement with its commercialization partner and reached Phase III of a Small Business Innovation Research grant through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for its SQUID technology. The Arizona-based company, with offices in Tempe and Prescott, started the grant process after receiving a $5,000 AZFAST grant from the state Department of Commerce in 2005 and a market assessment grant in 2007, and credits the Office of

Innovation and Technology with helping in its success. Martín Martínez, Engineering Science president, notes that when the company first started working with the programs at Commerce, it had a staff of seven. That now has grown to a dozen, not counting outside contractors. “Thanks to Commerce’s Innovation Accelerator program,” he says, “we have now expanded into light manufacturing, added a machine shop and are making parts.” Marco López Jr., thenCommerce director, said in January, “Encouraging research and development in Arizona is a critical component of our efforts to foster innovation in

our state. SQUID highlights the technology commercialization possible through the state’s investment in R&D, and the impact it can have for our economy and our future.” The Innovation Accelerator Program focuses on helping Arizona’s emerging technology and bioscience businesses excel by promoting innovation among entrepreneurs to help bring their discoveries to market. TechConnect first reported on the SQUID technology in the summer 2006 edition, and now the technology is being recognized as a nonlethal stopping device for law enforcement. Martínez’s company has partnered with Pacific Scientific Energetic Materials Corp. of Chandler to explore further commercialization of SQUID. + Get Connected www.ESACORP.com www.azcommerce.com

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Manufacturing 05.19.09 Lunch & Learn: Presented by CES Learning 05.21.09 Council Connect: How to Maximize Your Companies

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Awards Gala

For more information or to register for a Council event, visit www.aztechcouncil.org

Feature

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WorldStage Arizona bioscience is growing in international stature as companies expand their investments in the state

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The headquarters of the Translational Genomics Research Inswtitute in downtown Phoenix

Writing by :: M att Ellsworth

Roche, sanofi-aventis expansion The most noteworthy recent indicator of Arizona’s growing international stature was the February 2008 purchase of Ventana Medical Systems Inc. by Swiss biotechnology firm Roche Holding AG. As important as

the $3.4 billion price tag on the deal was Roche’s declaration that it had no interest in moving Ventana’s operations out of Oro Valley, a burgeoning nexus for bio north of Tucson. “We have very dedicated, very qualified people around the world, but Tucson stands out,” Roche CEO Severin Schwan told the Tucson Citizen. “You have to trust the people you give the money to.” Indeed, when Schwan addressed Arizona business leaders in October 2008, he announced that this year Roche would increase Ventana’s workforce by 30 percent and invest $100 million in the firm. Ventana, which established itself in the biotech landscape by designing automated slide-preparation machines, has accelerated its growth as it has

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The evidence of the past 18 months shows that’s exactly what is happening, and on an unexpected scale: International pharma firms have set up shop in-state; a nonprofit in Tucson is leading critical components of U.S. and European drug-development reform; national health systems are engaging Arizona researchers to tackle major diseases; a startup firm from Flagstaff is conducting advanced product testing in Indonesia…And the list goes on.

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ioscience advocates in Arizona b don’t talk as much as they used to about building a bio sector to compete with San Diego or Boston. The talk these days focuses on an entirely different playing field. ¶ Bio in Arizona is going global. ¶ Since the 2002 launch of Arizona’s Bioscience Roadmap—a 10-year plan to fast track the state’s bio sector—entrepreneurs, researchers and community leaders have argued for building on existing technology platforms where the state already has strengths, such as neurological sciences, cancer therapeutics and bioengineering.

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moved into molecular diagnostics, an area of the biosciences that Roche views as essential to its continued growth. Ventana’s importance to Roche as a diagnostics developer undoubtedly increased earlier this year when Roche completed its acquisition of the pioneering biotech firm Genentech Inc. One of Ventana’s leading reagents is an antibodybased companion diagnostic to help assess whether a patient might respond to Herceptin, Genentech’s home-run drug for breast cancer. The completion of the Roche deal for Ventana closely followed another pharmaceutical giant’s decision to expand its investment in southern Arizona: just weeks earlier, sanofi-aventis U.S. Inc. announced a $40 million expansion of its combinatorial Technology Center in Tucson. (Like Ventana, sanofi’s R&D unit was originally established by University of Arizona researchers.) And a third big name in pharma, Merck, is also on the scene, leading a $10 million venture-capital investment in High Throughput Genomics, a privately held Tucson firm developing new diagnostics tools for drug-discovery research. Raymond Woolsey, president and CEO of the Critical Path Institute (C-Path), a Tucson-based organization dedicated to making drug development faster, safer and less expensive, observed in The Arizona Republic that southern Arizona firms are drawing attention for their ahead-ofthe-curve concentration on how to tailor diagnostics, prognostics and treatments to patients’ genetic and proteomic profiles. “This is big for Arizona,” Woolsey told the Republic. “Roche and a small number of large companies are seeing the light and realizing personalized medicine is what people want.” Regulators, pharma firms get together As Woolsey noted, Roche and sanofi aren’t the only pharmaceutical firms with an interest in establishing a foothold in southern Arizona. Over the past two years, those two and more than a dozen other major pharmaceutical companies have deepened their involvement in the Predictive Safety Testing Consortium (PSTC), a C-Path initiative focused on a once-unimaginable objective: bringing drug developers together to share with each other the safety regimens they use as they test new drug candidates. The PSTC reached a major milestone in June 2008, when both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and its counterpart across the Atlantic, the

European Medicines Agency (EMEA), approved new consortium-developed methods for discerning drug candidates’ toxicity. From now on, the FDA and the EMEA will accept data from seven new biomarker tests—measures of particular proteins found in urine that indicate damage to kidney cells. FDA and EMEA approval of the new diagnostics represents a triumph on more than one front for the nonprofit C-Path, which accepts no funding from pharmaceutical companies. First is the foundational achievement of forming and demonstrating the function of the consortium. The consortium, which C-Path established in 2006 with representatives of only a few drug companies, now includes more than 190 scientists from 17 of the world’s largest pharmaceutical firms. With the FDA (and more recently the EMEA) serving in an observer role and C-Path functioning as a trusted third party, the companies have agreed to a procedure for evaluating each other’s safety regimens. That the FDA and the EMEA have agreed to support the consortium’s efforts is also an important accomplishment for C-Path. As in the past, the two regulatory bodies will continue to make independent analyses of new processes and technologies like the kidney-damage biomarkers. But the fact that both agencies are present and accessible to consortium members appears likely to usher in an era of greater standardization and a streamlined development process. Looking forward, the drug developers working together under the auspices of the consortium are aiming to repeat their safety-testing evaluation for other kinds of biomarkers. Successful validation of the biomarkers would allow drug developers to reliably and more uniformly assess not just kidney damage, but also heart or liver damage and carcinogenicity. Luxembourg’s $200M bio investment As the achievements of Ventana and C-Path indicate, molecular diagnostics is rapidly emerging as a niche of competitive advantage in the biosciences for Arizona. That strength was underscored in June 2008 when the government of Luxembourg announced its plan to commit $200 million to a trio of interrelated biomedical-research projects. Of the three U.S. entities contracted to help implement the initiative for the tiny but prosperous European nation, two are headquartered in Arizona: the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) and the Partnership for Personalized Medicine.

The Partnership unites researchers from TGen and the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University with Nobel laureate Lee Hartwell, president of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. Under their agreements with Luxembourg, both TGen and the Partnership will collaborate with the nation’s academic, government-supported and independent research centers. TGen will work to develop the Integrated BioBank of Luxembourg, a centralized humanspecimen biorepository. The Partnership will lead Luxembourg Project Lung Cancer, an effort to devise molecular diagnostic tests for early identification of lung cancer.

the highest-profile human diseases. As Hartwell explained at the June 2008 announcement in Luxembourg, the Partnership’s approach responds to the burden that health-care costs are increasingly placing on nations. Early and reliable detection of disease—the fruit of personally tailored molecular diagnostics—is the best avenue for moreeffective and less-expensive treatment.

attract a non-target animal. And because the chemical agent breaks down into inert components when the rat metabolizes it, predators will not be affected, and it does not collect in the environment. If ContraPest works as well in the field as it has worked in the lab, Mayer anticipates the product could rapidly replace many of the problematic pesticides that farmers around the world currently use. Cornering

Key players in the biosciences sector know each other personally and cooperate for mutual benefit, while being more than willing to expand their membership to all who want to join.

The Partnership’s endeavor, which will target the world’s most prevalent cancer, will be the first project using the resources of the Integrated BioBank of Luxembourg. It also will be the first of several “demonstration projects” the Partnership will initiate. Additional projects—based on agreements with other nations—are being negotiated now, says Hartwell, chair of the Partnership executive committee and the 2001 Nobel laureate in physiology or medicine. In the immediate future, Hartwell says, the Partnership will pursue several such demonstration projects to establish molecular diagnostic tests for some of

Worldwide hub for plant-science inquiry Questions on the scale of the one that SenesTech is grappling with—how to sustain a world population whose growth is outstripping its food supply—are ultimately so complex that single groups of researchers, working separately and pursuing single approaches, are unlikely to yield complete resolution. These “grand challenges” call for an entirely new kind of infrastructure for inquiry, say leaders of the $50 million iPlant Collaborative project at UofA’s BIO5 Institute. “This global center is going to change the way we do science,” says UofA plant sciences professor Richard Jorgensen, principal investigator on the iPlant grant from the National Science Foundation, awarded in January 2008. “We’re bringing many different types of scientists together

the bio issue

A researcher in one of TGen’s labs

An adversary half a world away The reach of the biosciences extends beyond health care, of course, and Flagstaff startup SenesTech Inc. is applying its discovery about a common industrial chemical in the agriculture subsector. ContraPest™, the environmentally friendly product SenesTech is now testing in Indonesia, could be the answer to one of the great scourges of the world’s food supply: the rice-field rat of Southeast Asia. “Research shows that just a 10 percent reduction in the rice-rat population could feed over 380 million people,” says Loretta Mayer, the Northern Arizona University research professor who founded SenesTech in 2002. “The numbers are simply staggering.” Under an agreement signed last year with the government of Australia—the global leader in combating invasive species— SenesTech is testing ContraPest at a small, experimental farm in the Indonesian province of West Java. Unlike typical poisons used to control pests like the rice-field rat, ContraPest does not kill its target, it only prevents reproduction. One of Mayer’s collaborators, Timothy Vail, an NAU biochemist and SenesTech’s vice president of manufacturing and regulation, has designed the bait containing the chemical so it will not

the market on agricultural rodent-control would mean big bucks—SenesTech estimates a potential for $1 billion in revenue from ContraPest within three years of commercial introduction. But that’s not what SenesTech CEO Everett Hale talks about when he describes his reasons for joining the company. “I am dedicated to addressing starvation with this technology and changing the livelihoods of the rural poor,” says Hale, whom Mayer recruited last year from San Diego to lead the company. “I never knew the extent to which governments had to use poison to prevent famine. But a percentage of poison in any food supply is not acceptable. We are losing lives and the environment. Through our technology, we can now change the world and help feed its people.”

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“This model may serve as a driving force of innovation for the European Union, as well as U.S. health care,” says George Poste, now chief scientist for Arizona State University’s Complex Adaptive Systems Initiative, who guided ASU’s participation in the Partnership as Biodesign’s founding director.

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BIO5 at The University of Arizona in Tucson

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who rarely had opportunities to talk to one another before. In so doing, we’ll create the kind of multidisciplinary environment that is necessary to crack the toughest problems in modern biology.” At the core of the iPlant Collaborative is what the National Science Foundation has termed a “cyberinfrastructure” specifically built to handle the grandchallenge questions of plant science. Rather than support new experimental research and data gathering, the iPlant Collaborative is directing its cyberinfrastructure resources to integrate previously dispersed and unconnected efforts of plant scientists, computer and information scientists, mathematicians, and engineers around the world. Vicki Chandler, former director of BIO5 who led UofA’s pursuit of iPlant—which will be eligible for another $50 million grant four years from now—noted that having the cyberinfrastructure’s operational headquarters in Tucson also would provide an economic boon. “We’re going to be doing revolutionary, cutting-edge research that’s driving research across the world,” Chandler told the Arizona Daily Star. “That ought to be a pretty exciting thing to position your company near. I think that is really going to help promote this region as one that can do high technology.” Close-knit state opens up to the world It’s a contradiction of the best kind: the pace at which Arizonans have built their

young biosciences sector is in significant part a consequence of key players knowing each other personally and cooperating for mutual benefit. Simultaneously, that core community is more than willing to expand its membership to all who would join its enterprise. Joshua LaBaer, a trailblazer in the field of proteomics—the new research field at the heart of the Partnership for Personalized Medicine—is one of the most recent arrivals on the Arizona bio scene. Raised in Phoenix, but for many years a fixture at Harvard Medical School, he will return this summer to lead the Virginia G. Piper Center for Personalized Diagnostics at the Biodesign Institute at ASU. One of the technologies he pioneered at Harvard, a robotic system for gene cloning that allows worldwide distribution of gene clones for research, will be a centerpiece of his lab at Biodesign. “We are especially excited to be doing this in Arizona where there is a strong collaborative atmosphere and a palpable excitement about this new direction for medicine,” LaBaer says. “Arizona’s interest in new technological approaches and the willingness of its various clinical stakeholders to come together to build a statewide biorepository are just what we need to be successful.” Collaboration has enabled formation over the past 18 months of a unified statewide bioindustry association, AZBio, to advocate for bio priorities in public policy and business and workforce development.

Collaboration has been at the heart of the grant-making by Science Foundation Arizona, which matches public appropriations with private philanthropic contributions and supports novel industry-university research partnerships, such as a biofuels project teaming BP with ASU and a melanoma-detection project uniting Raytheon Co. with the UofA’s Arizona Cancer Center. Collaboration is literally connecting Arizona institutions: Genetic and proteomic researchers at ASU and TGen soon will be joined by “Longbow” technology, a new kind of fiber-optic data link developed by the Canadian defense firm Obsidian Strategics Inc. Currently, transmitting a 7-terabyte data set of genome-sequence information from TGen to ASU’s Saguaro 2 supercomputer can take 12 days over a standard Internet connection. Longbow will cut the transfer time to a single hour. The collaborative approach helps to explain Arizona bio’s rapid rise over the past six years. Since the launch of Arizona’s Bioscience Roadmap in 2002, the state has generated bioscience jobs almost three times faster than the nation as a whole and has added new bioscience establishments twice as rapidly. Grant funding from the National Institutes of Health has increased at twice the rate of the Top 10 grant-winning states, and the growth in university research-anddevelopment spending has outpaced the top 10 states by 6 percent. Like all regions and states, Arizona faces challenges, most prominently a dearth of venture-capital funding for startup companies, as well as local complications wrought by the global economic crisis. But the state’s bio leaders have tasted some early success, and a habit of working together has been set, and international alliances continue to proliferate. The Arizona model looks like it is here to stay.

Matt Ellsworth is a senior writer and editor at the Flinn Foundation

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Business Opportunities abound for companies to invest in Arizona W riting by :: David drennon

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Bio is Big espite the slowing economy, d economic development leaders in Arizona are seeing an uptick in the bioscience and health-care industries. While many other sectors saw deep job declines, Arizona gained more than 14,100 health-care jobs from November 2007 to November 2008. Health care is among a handful of industries that remains resilient during an economic slowdown, and in Arizona, this characteristic extends to a budding bioscience community.

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Graduate students of environmental biotechnology are partners in a project at ASUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Biodesign Institute.

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A researcher at TGen works in her lab.

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Strong foundation for businesses Arizona is one of the fastest-growing states in the nation with a population expected to reach 13.34 million by 2055, a 160 percent increase from 5.13 million in 2000. This growth creates business and investment opportunities as markets expand and new markets open. With the expected growth, Arizona offers excellent opportunities for international companies and investors. The state has a positive investment climate with targeted incentives and a businessfriendly operating environment that can make it one of the most cost-effective places to do business in the country. For companies in the bioscience industry, programs and services exist at the state and local levels, depending on the project. At the state level, for example, the Small Business (Angel Investment) and Research and Development tax credit programs are available for qualifying companies. In addition, Arizona offers sales- and use-tax exemptions for equipment and machinery used in manufacturing, and aggressive additional depreciation schedules to help reduce costs. For smaller companies, payroll costs may

not be an issue in the beginning, but as the company grows or when salaries are high and considered a larger operation cost, Arizona can offer competitive solutions. Arizona labor wage rates are 14 percent below the national average. Worker’s compensation and unemployment insurance rates (payroll taxes) are lower than any other state in the West and Southwest regions of the United States, and are lower than 92 percent of all jurisdictions in the country. Collaboration fosters growth When champions of the bioscience sector launched Arizona’s Bioscience Roadmap in 2002, they did so knowing full well how long it takes a region or state to become a global player. To leapfrog over the competition, those architects focused on establishing a hospitable environment, building on areas of existing strength. Arizona’s collaborative gene is exactly what today’s economic turmoil requires. “Job growth in the biosciences has been strong in Arizona since 2002, far outpacing

nationwide growth, and bioscience jobs in Arizona pay significantly better than jobs in the overall private sector,” says Walter Plosila, a former vice president of Battelle who now consults for the company. “Additionally, the state has shown impressive growth in the number of bioscience firms.” Employing resources for collaborative partnerships through local, regional and statewide initiatives, the state is gaining international attention in the world of bioscience research, technology and services. Arizona offers a blend of intellectual talent, passion for patient care, state-of-theart facilities and public-private partnerships that accelerate next-generation solutions. Consider: + Arizona State University’s Biodesign Institute, TGen, and Nobel laureate Lee Hartwell launched a $45 million international personalized medicine initiative. + Northern Arizona University is home to one of the largest pathogen-related genomics research centers in the world. + Northern Arizona Center for Emerging Technologies incubator has opened in Flagstaff. + Translational Accelerator (TRAC), a $20 million venture-capital fund for Arizona biosciences, formed in 2008. + University of Arizona’s BIO5 Institute landed a $50 million National Science Foundation grant to develop a global plant-sciences cyber infrastructure. + Ventana Medical Systems of Tucson was bought by Roche Holding AG for $3.4 billion, and local expansion is planned. + Catapult Bio was launched by a $14 million grant to create new companies by maximizing late-stage discovery research. + C-Path facilitated a groundbreaking agreement with the Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency to approve new methods to measure renal drug toxicity. + New science parks are underway in Flagstaff and Tucson.

Treatment Centers of America expanded westward and opened the doors to its fourth national location in Goodyear. The Western Region Medical Center brings a revolutionary model of cancer care to Arizona. The 213,000-square-foot-facility has about 24 inpatient rooms, including ICU rooms and surgical suites, state-ofthe-art radiation therapy and infusion departments, an on-site outpatient clinic, rehabilitation therapy and onsite residential accommodations for outpatients and their families.

A snapshot of cities’ collaborative efforts among academic, institutional and private entities in this statewide endeavor in the sciences nicknamed Biozona Surprise February brought a brand new technology transfer organization to Arizona. Catapult Bio Inc. is a nonprofit designed to turn emerging research discoveries into business opportunities. The city of Surprise and Catapult Bio are partnering to advance the life science industry through a strategic partnership agreement announced in March. With offices in Phoenix and Los Angeles, Catapult Bio, a spinoff of TGen Accelerators LLC, is focused on accelerating commercial bioindustry projects. In January, Catapult secured $14 million from Los Angelesbased Abraxis Bioscience with the aim of providing funding and other resources to life science discoveries with commercial potential. “The partnership with the city of Surprise is very exciting for Catapult Bio,” says CEO MaryAnn Guerra. “It is important for us as a new organization that we foster relationships with the local communities to leverage the resources of the Valley and to accelerate new business development in the life sciences.”

The partnership agreement includes performing due diligence on life science companies, strategic advice, joint branding and assistance with creating a local life sciences-related advisory committee. The Surprise Economic Development Department is seeking federal stimulus money to create a local innovation center to launch biotech companies that Catapult Bio could bring to the community. The company will locate in Surprise’s new 59,000-square-foot biotechnology accelerator and enjoy partnership with the worldrenowned Sun Health Research Institute. Catapult Bio is specially designed to fit Arizona’s need for expertise, services and funding to develop and commercialize life science research discoveries. Abraxis BioScience’s grant demonstrates confidence that Arizona is a strong location for biotech startups.

Goodyear Goodyear, a city whose annual growth from 2000 to 2005 was 16 percent, is emerging as a leader in medical treatment. On Dec. 29, the Cancer

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Cities on the Move

Covance opened a new state-of-the-art medical research lab in Chandler. Already home to Intel, Microchip Technologies, Rogers, Avnet and Marvell, Chandler continues attracting and growing companies in the medical device, biotech, nanoscale and sustainable technologies sectors. Covance, one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive drug development services companies, completed its 280,000-squarefoot lab in March. It will play a role in Covance’s continuing commitment to help develop life-saving and life-enhancing medicines to treat serious diseases such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes and Alzheimer’s, among many others. The new facility will offer new jobs in the market, most of which will be life science based, including study managers, directors, lab technicians, pathologists and others. “We expect to initially employ 300 to 500 people once we are up and running, and grow to approximately 2,000 employees once the site is fully developed. We are committed to Chandler and look forward to supporting the city’s vision of establishing a life sciences hub in the East Valley,” says Covance Chief Operating Officer Wendel Barr. Covance has global operations in more than 20 countries, and more than 8,900 employees worldwide. On another front, high-tech leaders Microchip and Intel are working to provide cutting-edge biomedical solutions. Intel is exploring the possible biotechnical application of its nanoscale technology, and Microchip has created the Design Partner Specialist designation, including its network of Medical Design Partner Specialists. Since Motorola was one of the first technology companies to anchor Chandler’s Price Corridor, it seems fitting that the campus also would be home to the next wave of innovative technology. The city is working with a private development group to create a 150-acre innovation zone to provide locations for young entrepreneurial startup companies, science and research, and full-

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Chandler

Feature scale technology manufacturing businesses. The technology-focused campus, previously occupied by Motorola for 25 years, features a 510,000-square-foot building complete with labs, gases, deionized water, clean rooms and a dedicated electrical substation, and an additional 110-acres of undeveloped land.

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Tempe Nobel laureate Lee Hartwell, president and director of Seattle’s Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, has joined with TGen and ASU’s Biodesign Institute to establish the Partnership for Personalized Medicine, an endeavor of global scope that will use the latest advances in proteomics to develop, validate and apply new molecular diagnostics to improve health outcomes and reduce health-care costs. These areas of focus have led to more than $100 million in research funding, making Biodesign the Valley’s single largest generator of federal biomedical research

Gilbert From world-class research to translating discoveries into personalized medicine or devices that save lives, the collection of intellectual talent, state-of-the-art facilities and public-private partnerships accelerate next-generation solutions in the life sciences environment in Gilbert. With the goal of becoming a Preferred Company Environment (PCE) for life sciencerelated enterprises, Gilbert hosts two million square feet of hospital and clinical research facilities with 300-plus acres dedicated to the research and development of cardiovascular, neurological, orthopedic and reparative cell technologies, as well as the continued practice and education of alternative medicine and women’s health services.

Gilbert offers access to about 100,000 health-care practitioners and technicians within a 45-minute commute. Already committed to Gilbert is the Celebration Stem Cell Centre that will consist of umbilical cord blood storage, adult cell storage and a science department providing research, cell growth and stem cell banking to be cataloged for a “gift of life” program. The technology is implemented in a clinical setting involving lead researchers from around the world, including Dr. Nabil Dib, Jennifer Hall, and Dr. Magdi H. Yacoub. Dib, a leader in the field of stem cell and gene delivery to the heart, is a principal investigator in more than 20 clinical trials in both cell and gene therapy. In conjunction with the Celebration Stem Cell Centre is the Celebration Centre for Integrated Healing designed to create a “compassionate healing environment” where medical professionals from all health-care fields work with a variety of allopathic and natural health care practitioners to achieve the highest quality of fully integrated health care. The Centre includes an educational component with a 400-seat, state-ofthe-art theater and international video conferencing capabilities.

Scottsdale Scottsdale’s bioscience efforts have long been rooted in personalized medicine, drug development and drug discovery. Institutions like the Mayo Clinic, TGen and Scottsdale Healthcare collaborate with each other and private-sector companies/ institutions in advancing biomedical studies. Beyond the biomedical focus, however, Scottsdale also has begun to attract companies engaged in bioenergy research and development activities. One

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In the heart of downtown Phoenix is the 28-acre Phoenix Biomedical Campus. The University of Arizona College of Medicine– Phoenix in partnership with Arizona State University (yes, that’s its official name) is among the key campus tenants, which also includes the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen); International Genomics Consortium; National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases; Barrow Neurological Institute; Arizona Biomedical Collaborative building; and The University of Arizona College of Pharmacy. Immediately next to the campus is the Arizona State University College of Nursing & Healthcare Innovation and Phoenix Union Bioscience High School.

funding, and help from more than 200 collaborations with clinical, industrial and research organizations. Partnerships include a collaboration with BP to develop cyanobacteria optimized to produce high-energy fat for biodiesel fuel and working with Motorola to improve the detection of explosives. Following ASU’s $150 million investment in Biodesign, the city of Tempe, in partnership with Valley Metro, invested in a light-rail system that connects the Biodesign Institute to research institutions in downtown Phoenix. The private sector, too, has stepped forward. Near ASU in Tempe, Chesnut Properties has finished the Papago Gateway Center, a 260,000-square-foot, LEED-certified biotech laboratory and corporate-office facility. And near the downtown Phoenix biomedical campus, the Plaza Companies is preparing to build a 270,000-square-foot biomedical, physician and research office building.

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rom the unrivaled quality of place, to the access to world-class talent through Northern Arizona University and its science- and engineering-focused programs, Flagstaff is quickly becoming a hotbed for bioscience research and development, as well as medical device manufacturing. Its four-season climate, nearly unlimited outdoor recreational opportunities, and bustling arts and culture scene make Flagstaff the ideal place to both work and play. The city and surrounding area has attracted the talent and investment of such venerable companies as W.L. Gore & Associates, Machine Solutions and TGen North.

Flagstaff Is On the Map Bioscience, research and development firms are drawn to the area W riting by :: David drennon

Gore chose Flagstaff for its medicalproducts division in 1967 and has grown tremendously since then. Occupying several campuses in the Flagstaff area, with nearly 2,000 employees, Gore develops and manufactures implantable medical devices. Machine Solutions is newer on the scene— since 2000—but has grown into a process and testing equipment supplier to international catheter and stent manufacturers. The proprietary MSI segmental compression mechanism provides an even, repeatable radial compression that has been proven for stent crimping, catheter balloon folding and marker band swaging applications. TGen North is the heart of TGen’s Pathogen Genomics Division, led by Dr. Paul Keim, one of the world’s foremost experts

Job growth in the biosciences has been strong in Arizona since 2002, far outpacing nationwide growth, and bioscience jobs in Arizona pay significantly better than jobs in the overall private sector. - Walter Plosila, a former vice president of Battelle who now consults for the company companies to leverage the resources of the nation’s largest university. ASU has developed programs to facilitate access to the university’s human resources, research assets and other physical property to attract developing business, accelerate growth and reduce costs. SkySong offers incubation space for organizations ranging from the smallest venture (or a venture seeking limited expansion) to build-to-suit opportunities for the largest multinational corporations. Currently, Scottsdale is home to more than 30 bioscience companies in various stages of development. Two of the larger, more successful corporate citizens are Regenesis Biomedical and ImmuneRegen BioSciences.

Cell Proliferation Induction® Therapy to stimulate skin cells in and around wounds and accelerates the rate at which cells progress through the mitotic, or cell replication, cycle. ImmuneRegen BioSciences is focused on developing its drug candidate for regenerating or strengthening the human immune system, in part through stimulation of human adult stem cells. Recent efforts have identified stem cell activity for the company’s lead candidate, Homspera®, and the company believes this finding underlies some of the beneficial effects previously reported in potential applications, such as radiation exposure, infectious disease and wound healing.

in anthrax and other dangerous infectious diseases. The strategic plan for TGen North has been developed to focus on diagnostic, analytic, forensic and epidemiologic research related to pathogens important to medicine, public health and biodefense. In addition to industry stalwarts, Flagstaff is also headquarters to innovative new companies like SenesTech, whose mission is to “complete the development of non-surgical reproduction management technology that could profoundly change the world via wildlife and companion animal population control. SenesTech’s groundbreaking research and product development could have a big effect on world hunger and is already in trials under research agreements with governments in Southeast Asia.

“Our technology is based on a ‘green’ approach to global pest management as we aspire to remove poison from our environment and responsibly manage wildlife populations. Flagstaff is a likeminded community and our support from city government and the environmentally responsible citizens provide the best climate possible for our growth and success” says Loretta Mayer, SenesTech’s board chairman and chief scientific officer. The company is currently the largest tenant in northern Arizona’s newly constructed Science, Technology and Clean Energy Center. The center opened last fall and is a 10,000-square-foot incubator facility that features state-of-the art wet and

Oro Valley and Tucson Sanofi-aventis Group, the world’s thirdlargest pharmaceutical company, is expanding its operations in Oro Valley, just north of Tucson. The area—named by Fortune Small Business one of the 50 “Best Places to Live and Launch”—is a pharmaceuticals powerhouse. Here also is Ventana Medical Systems, which was acquired by Swiss drug developer Roche Holding AG. “Arizona is well-positioned to support early-stage companies, too,” says Bruce Wright, UofA’s associate vice president for economic development. Like ASU, UofA has an established research park that nurtures nascent firms, as well as established ones. Now, Wright is leading the charge for development in Tucson of a second, more-focused Arizona Bioscience Park, designed to address the lack of sufficient commercial lab space. The Arizona Cancer Center in Tucson is one of only 40 National Cancer Institutedesignated comprehensive cancer centers in the nation. From 2005-2006, more than 250 physicians and scientists who are cancer center members generated $67 million in research funding, resulting in the creation of more than a dozen biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies and more than 14 cancer-fighting drugs. BIO5 is a collaborative endeavor, bringing together top UofA scientists from five disciplines: agriculture, medicine, pharmacy, basic science and engineering. In 2008, the National Science Foundation rewarded BIO5’s assembly of ingenuity with a $50 million grant to establish the iPlant Collaborative, a cyberinfrastructure project that will integrate previously dispersed and unconnected efforts of plant scientists, computer and information scientists, mathematicians and engineers around the world.

dry lab facilities and shared support facilities for emerging entrepreneurs and startup companies. It is the home of the Northern Arizona Center for Emerging Technologies, which offers hands-on consulting to high-tech, science and renewable energy companies. Seeing the need for even more room for science and high technology companies to expand, the city of Flagstaff and The Plaza Companies are teaming up to start construction on a new science park. Built in phases, the finished park will include up to 200,000 square feet of research, lab and production space for companies wanting to expand in, or relocate to, Flagstaff. + Get Connected: CityofInnovation.com

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Regenesis Biomedical is focused on developing and marketing non-invasive regenerative medicine products. Regenesis developed, patented, and now markets the Provant® Wound Therapy System, an adjunctive wound treatment used to treat superficial soft-tissue wounds, aiding in the reduction of pain and edema, and contributing to the overall process of wound healing. Provant uses proprietary

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of the contributing factors to this broader mix is Scottsdale’s partnership with Arizona State University in the form of SkySong: the Scottsdale Center for Innovation. This project creates a collaborative ecology where entrepreneurs, enterprises, ASU researchers and community members connect, innovate and advance their individual and collective goals. ASU is committed to collaborate with SkySong

TheFocus ::

China Connection Women’s delegation from Shanghai is impressed by what they see at Avnet W riting By :: K ate nol a n

he silk scroll was an auspicious gift for an American capitalist, circa late March 2009. It depicted five bull oxen marking the current Chinese year of the ox, 4706. “We wish Avnet emerges from this economic crisis into a bull market,” Li Rong, a Chinese official, says through an interpreter. She handed the gift to Jim Smith, a top executive at Avnet, the Phoenix-based Fortune 500 technology company with annual revenues close to $18 billion. Rong, vice chairwoman of the Shanghai Women’s Federation, and other members of her group had just toured the firm’s Chandler distribution center, a computerdriven marvel. Part of a government-run federation that addresses women and family issues in China, the Shanghai group was in Arizona by invitation of Gov. Jan Brewer’s agencies for children and women, in coordination with the Arizona nonprofit Global Interactions and the Phoenix law firm Quarles & Brady. The trip was planned to foster communication on women’s issues in Arizona and Shanghai and to forge business and technology links. An Arizona delegation will visit Shanghai in May. After participating in a governor’s workshop with American women, the group of seven visited the Grand Canyon, Sedona and a few other reliable Arizona tourist eye-poppers. They also witnessed a novel program developed by Televerde, an Arizona firm that outsources sales and marketing work to female prisoners and connects ex-prisoners with jobs on the outside. For a tutorial on Arizona technology, planners chose Avnet. The home-grown international powerhouse does $2.5 billion in annual revenues in China alone and has 1,600 employees there.

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The supply chain, up close The women visited the firm’s 400,000-square-foot Futurama-like distribution center, the digital nerve center and supply-chain vortex for Avnet’s global electronics parts business.

Steve Schultz, the silver-haired Avnet director of strategic planning and communications, donned a blue ESD (anti-static) smock and led the group, while corporate Vice President and Assistant General Counsel Jun Li translated. The federation members, most in chic black or red casual wear and sporting cool bobbed hairdos, trekked behind the Avnet execs, occasionally peeking through office doorways to behold Dilbert calendars and other enigmas of Yankee business. The distribution center, a geek’s paradise, ships and stores electronic parts and specializes in providing value-added client services, such as programming electronic devices (iPods, for example) and testing them. Schultz reeled off numbers: 6.21 million orders annually; 254 million devices programmed annually; storage for 100,000 different parts; capacity to handle 4 million orders a month. The avuncular Schultz was forced to shout a little to compete with the miles of clattering blue conveyers suspended from the ceiling almost throughout the building, whose walls are painted a cheery yellow. “We use radio-frequency scanners. Each employee uses one to find parts – and also to pick up their work assignments. It’s like a grocery store for electronics parts,” Schultz says, standing near a parts-retrieval system that featured dozens of floor-to-ceiling carousels that whirled dizzyingly when workers punched in a code to find a part. In the packaging area, thousands of boxes coasted on conveyors directed by a computer system that oversees the boxing, sealing and addressing. Workers can monitor the load on screens and schedule their lunch breaks around major shipments. The computer system weighs each parcel and counts on four different scanners to quadruple-check the labels and other details. Problem parcels? An automated broom gently sweeps them down a dead-letter chute. Humanizing work When Schultz described the elaborate back-up system, the women spoke animatedly in Chinese.

Li explained later they were taken with the degree of back-up and viewed the four scanners as “humanitarian” aid that helped the workers “pursue perfection.” The managers are wise, the women said. At tour’s end they talked briefly about what they had seen; the word “humanizing” came up a lot. Li explained it is a hot topic among Chinese managers, in the wake of an era when businesses tried unsuccessfully to overcome dehumanizing aspects of the earlier communist regime by throwing money at every problem. “In the last three or four years, they have stressed building independence and self reliance and humanizing the workplace,” Li says. A display of dozens of flags was another “humanizing” bit. In a vast corridor, Avnet hangs flags representing the origins of its employees. The visitors insisted on being photographed beneath the Chinese standard. Rong calls the display “a very smart way to motivate employees.” Others noted the extent of the information technology; in China this type of logistics would be done by manual labor, Li explained.

The visit ended in a conference room where Smith, president of Avnet Logistics, the division that runs the distribution center, got a rock star reception: the women, in fact, gasped and applauded when Schultz introduced him. They told the jeans-clad Smith they liked the flags, which made them think of the United Nations, and the openness of the corporate culture.

“We are very, very impressed with your system, both hardware and software,” Rong tells him. Smith unfurled his new bullish scroll and says, “This could be the start of something good.” The women said the next step in the Arizona-Shanghai connection—the Americans’ visit in May—would tell whether the relationship was destined to flourish.

The women’s stops included the Heard Museum in Phoenix.

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Medipacs is developing a single-use infusion device called the Mini-Infuser™.

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Sun Health Research Institute is a place where world-class research in Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, cardiovascular disease, arthritis, fibromyalgia, and orthopedics happen. It’s where ground-breaking clinical trials happen; where hope and discoveries live.

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Early detection cancer technologies slated to combat melanoma W riting By :: Ar izona Ca ncer Center a nd Science Foundation Arizona

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Dr. Clara Curiel (right) CHECKS A PATIENT AT THE ARIZONA CANCER CENTER.

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he Arizona Cancer Center and Raytheon Co. are collaborating with Science Foundation Arizona (SFAz) to study ways to adapt satellite remote sensing technology now used to image a battlefield to one day image the human body for medical purposes. “Early detection of melanoma and other skin cancers should be a top priority in the public health system,” says Dr. Clara Curiel, director of the pigmented lesion clinic and multidisciplinary oncology program at the Center’s Skin Cancer Institute and assistant professor of dermatology at The University of Arizona College of Medicine. “To date, most body-mapping systems for tracking melanoma require that a healthcare provider make a subjective visual comparison of photographs to determine if significant change has occurred. The research program funded by Raytheon and SFAz will support efforts to apply cutting-edge technology to this challenging medical need.” The Center is the state’s premier National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center. With primary locations in

Scottsdale and at The University of Arizona in Tucson, the Center has more than a dozen research and education offices throughout the state and 300 physician and scientist members working to prevent and cure cancer. Raytheon is a technology leader in defense and homeland security. Karleen Seybold, systems engineering senior manager, has been leading a team of Raytheon Photon Research Associates engineers to adapt remote sensing algorithms for early detection. With research work continuing, a search is underway for development partners experienced in medical imaging to help advance the project and the technology. Additionally, Raytheon and the Center will work closely with the Food and Drug Administration as the project evolves. “This partnership represents SFAz’s unique skill in bringing together the research and development strengths of organizations as seemingly different as a defense contractor and a cancer research center to help incubate innovation that has both positive economic and social returns,” explains William C. Harris, the foundation’s

president and CEO. “Our ability to compete and prosper as Arizonans and Americans in the 21st century is dependent upon our aptitude to think creatively and strategically in building these types of alliances.” “The collaborations allow us to continue this important research,” says Michael W. Booen, a Raytheon Missile Systems vice president. “Imagine one day being able to give physicians the same kind of situational awareness—the ability to track even subtle changes in the appearance of their patients’ skin. It’s an exciting opportunity.” “Cancer prevention and early detection of skin cancer is a critical role of the Arizona Cancer Center,” adds Dr. David S. Alberts, director of the Center and regents professor of medicine, pharmacology, nutritional sciences, public health and BIO5. “The fact that we can partner with Raytheon Co. and Science Foundation Arizona to potentially improve early detection efforts would be a benefit to our patients and to our entire state.”

+ Get Connected www.azcc.arizona.edu

The Arizona Technology Council thanks these companies for their generous support of the 2009 Business + Information Technology Expo in Tucson. They helped make it a success.

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Getting On The Map Biotechnology in the Tucson area is ready for its close-up

{ Update::UOFA }

PHASE ONE OF The planned Arizona Bioscience Park

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W riting by :: Bruce A. W right

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ver the past five years, Arizona has made a major effort to become a leading biotechnology center in North America. With help from the Flinn Foundation and the Battelle Memorial Institute, the state has adopted and implemented a Bioscience Roadmap and invested in key initiatives, including establishment of the Translational Genomics Institute (TGen), Arizona State University’s Biodesign Institute, Phoenix Bioscience High School, the University of Arizona College of Medicine campus in downtown Phoenix, and Science Foundation Arizona. Largely centered in Phoenix, these developments have captured the attention of the bio world nationally and internationally. Efforts in southern Arizona have been equally impressive, but they have not received the same amount of attention as those in Phoenix. So, recently a coalition of organizations in the Tucson metropolitan area formed the Bioscience Leadership Council of Southern Arizona to promote development of the life sciences and biotechnology industry sector in the region. The council has focused on seven critical objectives: expanding southern Arizona’s research strengths around the bioscience industry, building a critical mass of bioscience firms in the region, developing the talent base necessary to support the bioscience industry, fostering

a supportive business climate, creating pubic understanding and support for the industry, attracting and nurturing new bioscience firms, and developing the basic infrastructure, such as business incubators, research parks and venture funds necessary to support continued growth of the industry. During its first year, the council is focusing on a marketing plan and strategy to promote awareness of bioscience in southern Arizona. The success of Tucson’s biotech efforts has centered around four major initiatives: building on the presence of two powerhouse biotech companies, Roche and sanofiaventis; the work of Critical Path Institute; research conducted through UofA’s Bio5 Institute; and development of the Arizona Bioscience Park. Roche and sanofi-aventis Two of the world’s largest and most successful biotech companies recently

established their presence in the Tucson region by acquiring local companies. The acquisitions have gained the attention of the bio world and put Tucson on the international biotech map. French biotech giant sanofi-aventis acquired Tucson-based Selectide Corp., a University of Arizona spin-off company founded in 1990. Selectide developed a proprietary methodology using combinatorial chemistry that alters the way new drugs are generated and optimized. The company employs 68 people and recently expanded its Tucson facilities. In 2008, Swiss-based Roche acquired Ventana Medical Systems, a local company founded by UofA professor of medicine Dr. Thomas Grogan. The company is a leader in the design and manufacture of automated diagnostic systems for the anatomical pathology market. The company employs 788 people.

In 2007, the UofA Office of Economic Development initiated a project to identify and map the location of all bio-related enterprises in the Tucson region. The project, led by Raphael Gruener, identified 108 biotech companies, manufacturers, institutes and hospitals. The project has since expanded to include the rest of the state with assistance from the Flinn Foundation. The map is available online at www.oed.arizona.edu.

Critical Path Institute The Critical Path Institute (C-Path), an independent, non-profit organization, was created in 2005 by the U.S Food and Drug Administration and UofA. It is dedicated to implementing the FDA’s Critical Path Initiative designed to move drugs and medical products from the lab to the marketplace faster, safer and smarter. C-Path’s mission is to serve as a “trusted third party” to enable innovative collaborations between government regulators, the academic community and the pharmaceutical industry. BIO5 Institute UofA’s BIO5 Institute facilitates collaborative research focused on disease and hunger. New BIO5 interim director Dr. Fernando Martinez is committed to finding solutions to the pressing challenges and moving solutions to market. Recent translational efforts include new startups Luceome, BioVidria and Cancer Prevention Pharmaceuticals. Started by BIO5 faculty, these companies are moving new therapies and diagnostics from the lab to the market. Arizona Bioscience Park UofA is currently developing the Arizona Bioscience Park. On 65 acres, the biopark

is part of a larger mixed-used development known as The Bridges. It is designed around the concepts of “live, learn, work and play,” and will be at the forefront of urban design and sustainable development. The biopark will include a technology high school, graduate student housing, high-intensity and lower-intensity laboratories, mixed-use office and commercial space, a hotel and conference center, and land for future university expansion. It will house a second location for the Arizona Center for Innovation, a technology incubator. Tucson is an important part of the larger statewide effort in biotechnology. It is well-positioned to capture emerging trends in medicine and biotechnology based on its bio assets: a major research university, the presence of international life-science firms and emerging biotech companies, and the facilities, infrastructure, business incubators and research parks required by commercial biotech enterprises.

A coalition has formed to promote development of the life sciences and biotechnology industry sector in the Tucson region.

Bruce A. Wright is associate vice president for economic development at the University of Arizona.

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Entrepreneur By Design ASU appoints innovator Alan Nelson to lead the Biodesign Institute W riting by :: Joseph Caspermeyer

rizona State University has appointed pioneering scientist and entrepreneur Alan C. Nelson as director of its Biodesign Institute, Arizona’s largest interdisciplinary research facility. ASU President Michael M. Crow says the appointment will enable the Biodesign Institute to continue its positive trajectory in terms of both critical research advances and economic returns. “Last year the Biodesign Institute generated more than $60 million in external funding and disclosed 50 new inventions. These tight economic times make it more important than ever for us to preserve and diversify programs that have a proven ability to generate revenue and that ultimately will have a profound benefit to society,” Nelson envisions the 600-person research institute becoming a key economic driver for Arizona. “Biodesign is going to be an engine for company startups,” Nelson says. “There is no reason why we can’t create those kinds of technology companies locally.” Nelson is the developer of a number of medical innovations, including a landmark 3-D imaging technology that dramatically improved detection of cervical cancer. The Phoenix native returns to Arizona from Seattle, where he is president and CEO of VisionGate, Inc. Both the 3-D platform and the lung cancer test are in the process of being commercialized, and Nelson’s company has attracted several potential acquirers. Previously, he founded NeoPath, Inc. to automate cervical cancer screening for faster, more accurate cancer detection.

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Record of Success Nelson received his master’s degree in geophysics and a Ph.D. in biophysics from the University of California at Berkeley in 1980. He simultaneously held professorships in nuclear engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as well as the W.M. Keck Foundation’s Endowed Chair in biomedical engineering

at Harvard University, and held a professorship in bioengineering at the University of Washington. Nelson founded and served as president and CEO of NeoPath, Inc., which automated cervical cancer screening for faster, more accurate cancer detection. (The company merged to become TriPath, Inc. and was acquired by Becton-Dickinson.) He also founded VisionGate, Inc., and served as its president and CEO. Nelson succeeds George Poste, who last summer was tapped to head ASU’s new Complex Adaptive Systems Initiative. In his new role, Poste has been charged with enhancing the quality and competitiveness of research programs across ASU using the successful concepts he established at the Biodesign Institute. Poste has continued to serve as the Institute’s director while a replacement was sought. In just five years, Biodesign’s success in competing for federal funding from agencies such as the National Institutes of Health has far outpaced the national average. Its funding comprises 24 percent of ASU’s annual research awards, which now total more than $230 million. Overall, the Biodesign Institute has underway more than 25 major research projects, which span personalized medicine and diagnostics, vaccine development, alternative energy, environmental sustainability and national security. Among the most well-funded efforts are a $15 million vaccine project to prevent pneumonia in newborns, which is slated to enter human clinical trials this spring; an $8 million program to develop a highly novel vaccine to prevent cancer that is being pursued in partnership with the Mayo Clinic; a $45 million personalized medicine initiative and a multi-million dollar project for a renewable biofuel for conventional car engines funded in part by Science Foundation Arizona. Joseph Caspermeyer is media relations manager & science editor at the Biodesign Institute.

{ Update::ASU }

Biodesign is going to be an engine for company startups. - Alan C. Nelson, new Biodesign Institute director

The Partying Is Over NAU protects Fossil Creek from being “loved to death” W riting by :: Dia ne Rechel

U.S. Forest Service

creek. Piles of trash grew and sediment was pushed back into the water. Managers fear that anglers’ bait could unknowingly reintroduce some non-native fish back into the creek, reversing one of the largest nonnative fish removals in the Southwest. Now Marks is part of an effort to protect the creek from partygoers and keep it pristine for visitors who respect its ecological significance. “It’s an Arizona wild place, and we hope to shift it from a party place to an ecologically important place,” she says. In the fall of 2007, more than 40 representatives from 14 governmental, tribal and environmental groups formed the Fossil Creek Stakeholders Group to address the environmental impacts at the creek “It’s gotten fairly chaotic down there with informal campsites and off-road vehicles, so we are bringing in an education piece about offering no trace,” Marks adds. “Piles of litter are close to the river, so the idea is to make more formal campsites back off the river and re-vegetate the areas where people have been camping.” Moreover, a Middle Fossil Creek Riparian Protection and Restoration Project $250,000 grant from the Arizona Water Protection Fund will help protect the area.

Spearheaded by NAU research associate Michele James, working with Janie Agyagos, a wildlife biologist with the U.S. Forest Service, the grant will make a big splash in funding informational kiosks, cleanup efforts, the closure and rehabilitation of campsites near the river and designating campsites away from the river, as well as vegetation and water-quality monitoring and education. NAU will check water quality and vegetation and provide project coordination. According to James, the U.S. Forest Service’s Coconino National Forest came up with $90,000, in addition to the grant money. Fossil Creek serves as a national case study in dam decommissioning because a group of NAU scientists, as well as members of national and state agencies, began studying the ecosystem years before the dam was decommissioned. “It is one of only a handful of dam decommissionings where we can research how the ecosystem is rebounding,” James says. The creek also serves as an interdisciplinary classroom for NAU to teach biology, geology, forestry, recreational management and more. Diane Rechel is a public affairs coordinator for Northern Arizona University.

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hen Northern Arizona University scientists helped restore Fossil Creek to its original flow, they expected native fish to return in abundance. But they didn’t expect a surge of visitors. “We have this fear that we are going to love it to death,” says Jane Marks, an associate professor in NAU’s biological sciences, who worked with scientists, environmentalists and businesses to return the creek in Arizona’s rim country to its full and natural force. The creek’s 15-year restoration efforts, featured in the 2006 award-winning public television documentary A River Reborn: The Restoration of Fossil Creek, included decommissioning a 100-year-old dam and hydroelectric facility. The film recounts how Arizona Public Service decommissioned its hydroelectric facility and collaborated with NAU and other groups to remove it and restore the water’s flow. Creek restoration is going great, reports Marks. “Travertine dams are reforming and the native fish recovery is incredible.” But as soon as the water began to flow again, so did people to enjoy it. More than 100 undesignated campsites popped up along a 4.5-mile reach of the

Dispersed campsite with trash and compacted soils.

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{ Update::NAU }

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Capitol Watch

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Promising Discoveries for the World

Now is the time to increase the hard work, attention and collaboration among leaders in academia, business, government, and philanthropy to grow the biotechnology industry throughout Arizona.

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ownright exciting. There is no better way to describe the bioscience research, discoveries and industry growth occurring in our great state. Here, science thrives for the benefit of all. It is an industry that represents a significant advantage to diversifying our economy, digging us out of the recession, and putting Arizonans back to work. From our hospitals and laboratories to medical devices and pharmaceuticals to the grocery isle and gardens—our lives are impacted daily by the advances in natural science. Now is the time to increase the hard work, attention and collaboration among leaders in academia, business, government, and philanthropy to grow the biotechnology industry throughout Arizona. By strengthening research infrastructure and developing improved commercialization strategies, we can position the state as a national and international competitor in the biosciences. Arizona discoveries are promising.

Researchers at the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), working with scientists from Los Angeles and Belgium, have identified a gene that may explain why some people lose their hearing as they age, accounting for 30-percent of all deafness. Arizona State University scientists, working with Italian researchers, have discovered a protein—at first thought to be a minor player—with potential to be a major anticancer discovery. The lives of 250 Arizona children are saved each year thanks to scorpion antivenom developed by University of Arizona and Mexico researchers. A comprehensive scan of the human genome by TGen scientists identified more than 50 genetic abnormalities in people with sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, better known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease. The most common of the abnormalities were never known to have played a role in the disease. Scientists at University of Arizona’s Bio5 institute genetically mapped corn which could

lead to developing a variety of maize that is drought- and disease-tolerant. The list goes on, and the results of research hold promise for everything from a possible cure for valley fever and melanoma to impatiens that shrug off drought- and disease-free geraniums. This is the Arizona of our future, engaged in the world economy. We will grow the jobs essential to our future prosperity. For years, school biology classes taught that our cells contain genes that hold the recipe for us or any organism. Now research blows the textbook paradigm, and we are not only uncovering the unseen, but learning how it works. Just imagine what tomorrow will reveal. It is an exciting time to be engaged in leading-edge research that is Arizona’s bioscience—translating innovations to the market, inspiring the next generation of scientists. + Get Connected www.azgoverner.org

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AEPI, the Grenoble- Isère, France, Economic Development Agency, provides complimentary information, introductions and services to assist companies to explore business opportunities in France’s Grenoble-Isère area, Europe’s stellar center for research in micro- and nanotechnology and new energy technologies. Ask about involvement with clusters Minalogic (micronano and miniature intelligent solutions), and Tenerrdis (solar energy, hydrogen and fuel cells, microenergy sources, nanomaterials and smart energy management). AEPI works closely with cluster anchor labs and other public and private partners. english. grenoble-isere.com AIC provides value to clients through .NET development work, SharePoint implementations, infrastructure virtualization, staff augmentation and a wide array of managed services including outsourced help desk support and hosting solutions. The Phoenix office is focused solely on organizations and resources in the Valley but as an international company, AIC can leverage its breadth of knowledge across geographies and industries to be a trusted advisor to our clients. Arizona’s U.S. Export Assistance Center with offices in Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tucson is the division of the U.S. Commercial Service dedicated to helping Arizona businesses reach their international business-development goals. The Arizona center is one of the agency’s more than 250 worldwide posts, offering companies customized end-to-end business solutions to help build international sales. Its team of five trade specialists deliver services falling under two broad categories: trade counseling, advocacy and training; and the identification and evaluation of international partners and customers. www.buyusa.gov/arizona Bank of Arizona offers competitive products and services combined with local decision-making to better enable its bankers to serve the needs of clients. Its Valleywide locations provide a comprehensive group of products to fit financial needs while creating value for clients, communities, employees and investors. Backed by BOK Financial, a $23 billion regional bank holding company, it is the largest commercial bank in the country to decline participation in the Treasury

Carpathia Hosting is the leading provider of enterprisemanaged hosting services supporting a worldwide customer base including federal agencies and enterprises in eight datacenters across the United States. Its suite of services is designed for organizations seeking scalable, secure, robust, and enterprise-grade hosting solutions that can be quickly provisioned, or tailored to meet unique requirements. As a datacenter-neutral company, Carpathia is quickly becoming the hosting company of choice for companies that demand security, quality and high performance. carpathiahosting.com CDI Corp. is a Fortune 1000 professional services and outsourcing company with more than 50 years of experience and an extensive network of offices. It is a preferred provider of information technology, engineering, aerospace and life science professional services and specialized staffing for more than half of the Fortune 1,000 companies. CDI and its subsidiaries operate more than 1,100 offices in 40 countries. www.cdicorp.com CMIT Solutions is an information technology services provider that focuses on the small/medium business segment, an underserved market that places a high value on having reliable technology (PCs, servers, networks and software) that enable them to flourish. CMIT functions much like an “outsourced” CIO and delivers enterpriseclass technology services to small and medium businesses at very affordable prices. www.cmitsolutions.com Delta C Dynamics, LLC is a world-class contract laser materials processing firm in Tucson specializing in laser component marking, cutting and engraving for service industries from aerospace to medical. It can achieve extraordinary accuracy in great detail for marking bar-codes, 2D matrices, UID identification, worldwide identifiers, graphics and logos. Services also include laser marking of stainless steel, aluminum, powder coated metals, anodized, titanium, brass, copper, ceramics, composites, plastics and glass and much more. www.deltacdynamics.com First Advantage’s Tax Consulting Services develops and implements strategies to reduce tax liabilities, including location-based credits and grants, work opportunity tax credits, training grants and economic incentives services. More than 1,000 organizations, including many Fortune® 100 companies, trust the company as their tax consulting partner. www.FADV.com/TaxConsulting

32 offices throughout the Americas, Asia Pacific, and Europe, its proprietary software automates much of the immigration process, assuring maximum efficiency while minimizing avoidable errors. Its services complement clients’ business models and culture, ensuring they benefit from the best value and competitive pricing. phoenixinfo@ fragomen.com Greene Holcomb & Fisher, based in Phoenix and Minneapolis, is an investment banking firm that specializes in mergers and acquisitions, private placements and financial advisory services for leading middle-market companies. Its experience includes substantial work with companies in the technology sectors of software (enterprise, infrastructure and consumer), IT services, semiconductors, semiconductor capital equipment, wireline/wireless telecommunications, electronic manufacturing services and Internet infrastructure/e-commerce. www.ghf.net ITT Technical Institute is an institution of higher learning committed to offering quality undergraduate, graduate and continuing education locally, nationally and worldwide to students of diverse backgrounds, interests and abilities. The institution offers educational programs that integrate life-long learning with knowledge and skills to help students develop intellectual, analytical and critical thinking abilities. Programs employ traditional, applied and adult-learning pedagogies. itt-tech.edu Kelly IT Resources is one of the leading IT staffing providers in the state. KITR provides contract, contractpermanent and permanent employees for IT companies of all size. All of its consultants are highly qualified with strong proven technical experience. Their goal is to build strong staffing partnerships with clients, providing them quality individuals who are able to complete their tasks at hand with excellence and also with cost effectiveness. www.kellyit.com Kredit Automation is an engineering and technical services company that specializes in automation for the manufacturing and process industries. It engineers, integrates, installs and troubleshoots control systems for nearly all types of manufacturing machinery. With expertise in PLC and HMI programming, data acquisition, AC and DC drives, instrumentation, and controls retrofit, it covers a broad range of industries throughout Arizona and the Southwest. Capabilities range from plant automation systems integration to machine troubleshooting and repair. www.kreditautomation.com

Fox and Fin, a merger and acquisition firm, sells businesses, represents buyers and facilitates combinations between companies that have excellent synergies. Any business owner who has sold a business will tell you it’s a long, tedious and stressful process that consumes time and distracts you from operation of the business and maintaining or increasing the value of their business. Lance Meilech is the firm’s representative in Arizona. www.foxfin.com

Mark Deitchman of R.P. Ryan Insurance specializes in working with Arizona’s technology businesses to save them money and maximize their insurance coverage. Mark is unique in that he strives to understand your needs and then find the best coverage in the industry at the best price. Mark will then custom design a plan for your specific needs to lower or completely eliminate your risk so businesses can in turn save money and feel more confident, comfortable and secure about the future. mdeitchman@rpryan.com

Fragomen provides single-source immigration solutions for visas, work permits, and immigration processing, as well as export control and I-9/E-verify compliance. With

McMurry Interactive is a leader in developing online applications and maximizing results online for our clients. Among its clientele are GlaxoSmithKline, Ritz-

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achieveHR is a full-service human resources consulting firm that offers flexible, customized HR solutions that fit your unique business needs and budget. Expertise includes administration and compliance, employee handbooks, recruitment and selection, performance management, training, employee relations and organizational development. It provides business-focused advice and guidance on human resources issues and has a strong track record of working with technology companies. info@achievehr.net.

Department’s Troubled Asset Relief Program. www.bankofarizona.com

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Established in 1900, AAA offers a wide array of automotive, travel, insurance and financial services serving more than 50 million members throughout the United States (48 clubs) and Canada (nine clubs). AAA of Northern California, Nevada and Utah is the second-largest regional member club of the national organization, serving more than 4.5 million members with its approximately 7,000 employees. Its information technology team is based in Glendale. www.csaa.com

MEMBERS: Carlton Hotel Co., Amtrak, CBS, Aon, CVS Caremark, Waste Management, USAA and 24 Hour Fitness. The division specializes in website design, search optimization and marketing, applications, hosting and consulting. www.mcmurry.com/services/interactive

MyTek Network Solutions is a full \-service business network solutions provider. It is committed to excelling in customer service and delivering cost-effective network solutions. As a Gold Microsoft Certified Partner and Microsoft Small Business Specialist, Mytek carries the expertise to design, install, and maintain computer networks and systems that support specific business needs and objectives. www.mytek.biz Neubloc LLC is an international software product design and development firm that helps clients produce market-driven products—from strategy to execution and maintenance— using onshore and offshore resources. Offerings include product design and development, RightSource roadmaps, and startup virtual design and engineering departments. The company is geography-independent, specializing in a RightSource model by coupling the best of U.S.-based consulting, design, architecture, engineering and project management. www.neubloc.com. The business of food is our business at Nibblers Catering, a woman-owned business in the Valley of the Sun. On time, on your table and on budget. It’s not just our slogan; it’s how we designed our business, with our corporate clients always on the “front burner.” We understand and focus on the needs of business. Creative menus to fit every budget are priced with value and flexibility to meet your business needs. www.nibblerscatering.com

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Established in 1994, MultiWare LLC specializes in custom business application software development. We create software that meets the needs of businesses to automate manual processes, streamline operations, and eliminate wasted effort and other barriers to efficiency. It attained Microsoft Gold Certified Partner status in 2006. All technical staff holds Microsoft Certified Professional qualifications. www.multiware.net

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Phoenix Energy Products has effectively and efficiently installed solar energy products throughout Arizona. The company is the largest installer of residential solar energy products. It is committed to meeting customers’ requirements while achieving cost savings and improved property values. Installation teams use quality products that offer the best value while being socially responsible and reducing dependence on coal and foreign oil, cutting pollution and improving air quality. Whether you’re a start-up company without full-time marketing resources but looking to commercialize a product or a Fortune 500 business needing an experienced professional for a special project, Pragmatix Marketing can bring value to your organization. Founded by Jessica Mathewson, the company helps clients grow their businesses through identifying and launching new products, managing products through the lifecycle for improved growth and profitability, and strengthening internal marketing organizations. jessicam@xmission.com

Runyan Law specializes in intellectual property. Owner Charles Runyan is a patent attorney who has represented clients ranging from individual inventors and start-up companies to multinational oil and chemical companies. Others include multinational pharmaceutical and medical device companies. www.linkedin.com/in/charlesrunyan Sideline Inc. based in Tempe is focused on revolutionizing LCD displays as peripherals for mobile devices. It is currently staging its first product for go to market. ben.mickey@sidelineinc.com With over 90 years of combined experience advising owners of closely held businesses, high net worth individuals, CPAs and tax attorneys worldwide, Silverhawk Advisory Group is highly qualified to assist in meeting your need for a successful future. From asset protection and management to income and estate tax planning, the firm can integrate your business entity planning with your personal financial goals and is committed to making your money go farther. www.silverhawkfinancial.com SMS provides superior-quality, cost-effective and independent maintenance services for HP, Sun, IBM, Dell, EMC and Cisco systems as well as disaster recovery services, data-center relocation and other it professional services. Its engineers are certified and arrive on site with the necessary part in hand for repair. With 34 service centers throughout the United States, the company’s entire business model is designed around cost savings in the data center. www.sysmaint.com Space Data Corp. was founded on a simple yet revolutionary concept: to provide a lower cost solution for rural and remote data and voice communications applications using weather-balloon technologies. It provides reliable, secure, wide-area wireless communications services to the military, public safety agencies, homeland security organizations and industry. These services are provided by flying recoverable communications repeater payloads at altitudes between 60,000 and 100,000 feet using relatively small, freefloating balloons. www.spacedata.net StrateGente is a marketing consulting firm specializing in high-priority projects for rapidly growing firms. Principal Keely Bamberg’s innovative approach to business analysis and market research incorporates the proprietary ICAR™ Matrix, an assessment tool that aligns corporate mission with opportunity. She developed it after observing that when organizations react to potentially lucrative market opportunities misaligned with mission, ability or resources, the result is often entrepreneurial fall-out. www.strategente.com Strategic Choice Consulting provides assistance to executives who are leading their organizations through strategic changes such as growth, turnaround, merger or new key players. Services include facilitating strategic thinking sessions, improving the strategic management process, guiding deep change initiatives, and enhancing team effectiveness. Client CEOs have attested to the impact of these services across their diverse industries, which include computing equipment, web media, software services, manufacturing,

distribution, construction, hospitality, and associations. www.strategicchoiceconsulting.com. Tri-Merit LLC is an “engineering services company” that specializes in research and development tax credit analysis. Services include on-site educational training and tax code use related to recent case rulings and current laws. We practice the IRS preferred methods in qualifying and quantifying R&D credit activities. TriMerit’s engineering expertise and hands-on experiences distinguishes it in performing field studies as well as audit defense to support companies and their accountants without the technical know-how. The Center for the Study of Law, Science, and Technology at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University’s main campus is the first and largest academic center focused on the intersection of law and science. The Center bridges law and science by fostering the development of legal frameworks for new technologies and advancing the informed use of science in legal decision-making. It facilitates transdisciplinary study and dialogue among policy-makers, academics, students, professionals and industry; it is committed to principles of balance, innovation, competitiveness and sustainability. www.law.asu.edu/lst The Hartford is a leading provider of insurance, retirement and investment products with millions of customers worldwide, including more than 3,700 technology clients. The Hartford strives to service all business needs based on its belief in the power of ability, sees possibility where others see limitations; and helps individuals achieve their personal best while ensuring that benefit administration is easy. It is No. 1 in group-disability sales, No. 2 in group life and a Top 10 Recordkeeper in America for 401(k) and 457 markets. www.thehartford.com VandeVrede Public Relations, LLC provides PR consulting for both emerging and mature technology clients in a variety of industries, with a focus on manufacturing and IT. Owner Linda VandeVrede is author of “Press Releases Are Not a PR Strategy,” now in its second edition. www.vandevrede-pr.com WorldatWork is a global human resources association focused on compensation, benefits, work-life and integrated total rewards to attract, motivate and retain a talented workforce. Founded in 1955, WorldatWork provides a network of more than 30,000 members and professionals in 75 countries with training, certification, research, conferences and community. It has offices in Scottsdale and Washington, D.C. www.worldatwork.org

For more information about membership, call the Arizona Technology Council at

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Common Ground. Uncommon Vision.

Quarles & Bradyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bioscience Practice For over two decades, Quarles & Brady has represented biotechnology companies, universities, educational institutions, medical device companies and others in the life science industry. We provide a full range of counseling to our clients in this industryâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;from the protection, commercialization and enforcement of intellectual property rights to public and private financings and providing support for mergers and acquisitions. For more information, please contact Jessica Franken, Phoenix Intellectual Property Group Chair, at 602-230-5520 or jfranken@quarles.com

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Plugged In New cancer center is first in its network to be completely digital

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The Network

Veillette worked with both caregivers and patient focus groups to understand what they felt would make their life better in the clinic. Among the innovations:

No Wasted Time “As we look at lean processes, the nurses waste a tremendous amount of time and energy going back and forth to a nursing station in order to get patient information and paperwork,” Veillette said. “The new hospital will have computers in every room and outside rooms, and the nurses will have portable equipment to take to the bedside of patients, eliminating typical nurse’s stations.”

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hen he had the chance to build a hospital from scratch, David Veillette, president and CEO of the new Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) at Western Regional Medical Center in Goodyear, enlisted the input of staff and 048 patients to help him create their ideal health care setting. “I sat down with teams at the Cancer Treatment Centers of America at Southwestern Regional Medical Center to try to understand our cancer-treatment model,” Veillette said. “We’d get a group of staff in an area and say, ‘If you didn’t have any restrictions on what you were doing, how would you care for a patient the most efficient way?’ Then we started listing things that would make their lives better.”

One Room Concept Essentially, every patient room is intensive care-unit-capable. That allows patients to be assigned to one room for an entire hospital stay, even if they get sick or need intensive care. “In traditional health care you move the patient around the building to the areas of care instead of moving the care to the patient,” Veillette said. “With our new model, the patient will stay in one room during their entire stay.” The advantages include consistency of health care, ease of finding the patient, and reduced medical errors and infections associated with transferring a patient from location to location.

A New Model “When we designed our care management

and our clinical model, we designed a whole new concept called the hope model. It creates a convenient and consistent team of caregivers for every patient. When a patient is admitted they are assigned to a physician, and that physician has his or her own care managers. He has an office, three or four exam rooms, and space for consultation,” Veillette explained. “This allows the same team of people to be working with that patient, increasing the patient’s comfort level because they’re seeing the same nurse, the same doctor, the same care managers. This model allows the patient to stay in that exam room during the initial examination. The naturopathic doctor, the nutritionist, the mind-body therapist and pastoral care, all of those support services come to the patient in that exam room, versus the patient being sent from the exam room to each of those areas.” As the newest addition to the family of CTCA regional medical centers, the Goodyear facility is leading the implementation of the Lean Six Sigma philosophy at CTCA. Lessons learned there may be adapted at other regional medical centers as CTCA continues to refine its ability to battle cancer while keeping patients first. Reprinted from Cancer Fighters Thrive magazine. + Get Connected www.cancercenter.com

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