Bio in Arizona

Joe Caspermeyer

Laura Gladney

PAF 591 Policy Briefing

April 1, 2003

Bio in Arizona

Just as semiconductors, computers and the Internet have ushered in an information revolution, advances in healthcare technology are creating sea change of perhaps even higher magnitude. No doubt wealth will be created. But more importantly, the rewards from years of investment and work in genomics, drug discovery and other medical technologies may be steady progress again disease and a major transformation of the human condition.”

Alfred Berkeley, President, the Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc.

Bio in Arizona

Impact of Bio in Arizona

Policy Recommendations for:

Public and Private Sector Issues

Workforce Development

Impact of Bio in Arizona Economic Impact

Investment benefits: new firms, jobs, income

Diversity brings economic stability

High-paying jobs

Technology development

Research Impact

Federal Funding – NIH & NSF

Revenue Return

Requirements for Growth

Research Excellence

Research universities, private institutes and labs

Economic Investment

Private and public

Talent

Recruitment and workforce development

Strengths of Bio in Arizona

Small but diversified Bio Industry

History of collaborative university research

Bio Industry wages are 77% above average industry wage

High educational attainment of bio industry workers

Geographically distributed industry – growing faster outside Metro area

Many companies are involved in more than one sector

Challenges to Bio in Arizona

Limited state funding of higher education

University research growth behind national average

Tech infrastructure in need of improvement

Current state fiscal policy and tax base limits growth

Difficulty in attracting, retaining and developing bioscience firms

Arizona Policy Recommendations

Increase education funding

University research development

K-12 long-term benefit to workforce development

Develop incubator space for start-up venture capital firms

Support current legislation

HB 2403 Technology-transfer bill

HB 2408 University research facility funding

Arizona Policy Recommendations

Attract, retain and develop a true bio industry cluster.

Build on success of TGen to build strong entrepreneurial business climate

Create state seed fund for bio tech angel and venture capital

Enhance Governor's Council on Innovation and Technology

Bio in Arizona

Questions?