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The Latest Progress of the Biosciences in Arizona

Arizona’s bioscience success depends on us all

This year’s Progress Report arrives at an exciting time, just a few months after the Flinn Foundation released the new Arizona’s Bioscience Roadmap. The Roadmap outlined a bold vision to accelerate discovery, innovation, and economic growth across the state through 2030.

Even in changing times, much work is being done toward that vision—as this report details.

“As you read this year’s Progress Report … do so with a sense of possibility. Look for the places where you might contribute to Arizona’s next chapter in bioscience.”

Jennifer Barton, Chair, Bioscience Steering Committee

$397 million of NIH funding in 2025 sets new record.

Bioscience R&D exceeds $855 million in 2024 as growth outpaces the nation.

Recent Highlights

Roadmap Steering Committee announces new leaders: University of Arizona’s Jennifer Barton and Wexford Science & Technology’s Kyle Jardine will serve two-year terms as chair and vice chair of the statewide leadership group that advocates for the bioscience sector.

Phoenix Bioscience Core hosts third State of the PBC: The third annual State of the PBC highlights the state’s bioscience and health innovation community with an event at 850 PBC, which hosts Connect Labs by Wexford, Arizona State University, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, and several bio startups.

Mayo Clinic, ASU partner on degree: A five-year grant from the Flinn Foundation supports a full-time, three-semester program held on ASU and Mayo Clinic campuses. The program, which welcomes its first class, immerses bio engineering students in clinical settings at Mayo, where they receive hands-on experiential learning. Separately, Mayo and ASU researchers partner on numerous research initiatives, including one to develop a rapid Valley fever test.

Arizona launches Community Neuroarts Coalition: Arizona becomes the 11th region or state in a network of neuroarts coalitions, with Arizona philanthropies and the Arizona Commission on the Arts uniting to explore how the arts can be used to improve the health and well-being of individuals and communities.

U of A receives joint $43.6 million federal grant: The seven-year NIH grant under the prestigious Clinical and Translational Science Awards Program enables U of A and the University of New Mexico to support translational science to help drive research into clinical practice. The award funds a new Southwest Center for Advancing Clinical and Translational Innovation, or SW CACTI.

Exact Sciences, with ties to TGen, sells for $23 billion: Exact Sciences, whose Phoenix presence is based in the TGen building in downtown Phoenix and is the maker of Cologuard, is purchased by Abbott Laboratories.

Could the cure for Alzheimer’s come from Arizona? Sun City’s Banner Sun Health Research Institute opens two new labs focused on developing blood-based biomarkers for Alzheimer’s as Arizona pushes to develop a cure for the disease. Banner Alzheimer’s Institutes is awarded a $21.6 million NIH grant to explore how hypertension may contribute to brain disease, and Northern Arizona University is studying brain metabolism to learn about the disease’s progression.

C-Path, HonorHealth Research Institute celebrate 20 years: Tucson-based Critical Path Institute, founded in 2005, celebrates 20 years of accelerating drug development through national and global partnerships in neuroscience, rare diseases, translational science, pediatrics, and more. Also celebrating a 20th anniversary: HonorHealth Research Institute in Scottsdale, which conducts more than 300 clinical trials a year.

TGen identifies potential biomarker for long COVID: TGen and Harbor-UCLA Medical Center researchers add to the growing evidence that suggests that SARS-CoV-2 may persist in certain body tissues long after the initial infection.

U of A College of Medicine in Phoenix hosts first Research Week: The five events over five days included the 10th annual Arizona Biomedical Research Centre-Flinn Foundation Research Conference, the 29th annual Dr. Michael D. Grossman Academic Excellence Day, and the 15th annual Scholarly Project Research Symposium. The second Research Week this spring will build on the success of the inaugural event.

Major capital deals lift Arizona companies: Breakthru Medicine earns $60 million in capital to advance its solid tumor cancer therapies. Other major deals were secured by Naari.ai, GT Medical Technologies, Solera Health, EvolvedMD, CND Life Sciences, Drive Health, Jocasta Neuroscience, Inc., and MyLand.

Caris Life Sciences completes initial public offering: Caris Life Sciences, which established its Arizona ties with a purchase of a TGen spinout, has a $494 million IPO. The company is using precision medicine to provide physicians and patients detailed information about their disease and targets for therapeutics.

AbbVie to acquire West Pharmaceutical Services facility: AbbVie plans to hire about 200 employees and invest in the device manufacturing facility in Tempe. West Pharma traces its Arizona presence back to a Scottsdale startup.

XLR8 PBC, WearTech research center support startups: AI.VALI, Hexoskin, Paxauris, ReSuture, and NeuroCatch make up the second XLR8 PBC cohort which provides access to top industry leaders, mentorship and strategic resources. Meanwhile, the WearTech Applied Research Center has awarded HemaSense, Senphonix, and Hydrawav3 a combined $700,000 to develop wearable health care-related technologies.

Gifthealth expands to Arizona; local Strive Pharmacy grows: Ohio-based healthtech startup Gifthealth’s new Mesa operation will support 200 jobs and use robotic processing for up to 28,000 medications a day. Strive Pharmacy, founded in Gilbert, expands into 223K-square-foot space in Mesa, employs about 1,000.

2026 Bio Capital Conference attracts local and out-of-state investors: Nearly 300 entrepreneurs, investors, and bio ecosystem builders gather at Creighton University Health Sciences Campus in Midtown Phoenix for a day of networking and learning about how investors evaluate companies, how to close on a deal, and what the direction of health care means for entrepreneurs and funders.

ASU medical school accepts first class: The John Shufeldt School of Medicine and Medical Engineering will welcome its first students in fall 2026, and move into the new $200 million ASU Health building in downtown Phoenix in fall 2028.

U of A to open medical school branch in Yuma: The U of A College of Medicine-Phoenix and Onvida Health partner to launch Arizona’s first rural regional medical school branch. The three-year Primary Care Accelerated Pathway will lead to a medical degree, with clinical training based entirely in Yuma.

Creighton School of Medicine graduates first four-year Phoenix class: The 97 Creighton medical students are the first to have gone through all four years of learning at the Creighton University Health Sciences Campus at Park Central in Phoenix.

U of A’s intern program celebrates 20 years: The KEYS Research Internship at the U of A’s BIO5 Institute accepts applications for its seven-week summer program for high school students. The 20th class of KEYS interns will work with mentors on research projects and build professional and academic connections.

University of Jamestown opens Phoenix campus: University of Jamestown of North Dakota starts a two-year pathologists’ assistant master’s degree program in Phoenix for careers in surgical and autopsy pathology.

New Roadmap unveiled at statewide events: The Flinn Foundation, SRI International, bioscience, and community leaders introduce the new Arizona’s Bioscience Roadmap to live audiences in Flagstaff, Tucson, and Phoenix. The new Roadmap, available on the Flinn website, will guide discovery, innovation, and economic growth.

City of Phoenix has strong presence at BIO International: The city of Phoenix brings a delegation to the 2025 BIO International Convention attended by more than 20,000 industry leaders in Boston. Phoenix-based startups take the stage and tell their stories at the event’s Start-Up Stadium.

Rare disease community gets bigger voice in government: Arizona becomes the 31st state with a Rare Disease Advisory Council. It creates a mechanism for researchers, health care providers, patients and caregivers to make policy recommendations. The mission of the council is to improve patient access to specialists, diagnostics, treatments, and affordable coverage.

Campaign for Valleywise expansion successful: Maricopa County voters approve Proposition 409, a $900 million bond to fund a new 200-bed behavioral health hospital, outpatient specialty center, and growth in emergency services, and primary and pediatric care. Valleywise also celebrates 60 years since the creation of its Diane & Bruce Halle Arizona Burn Center.

144K+ people employed in bio-related fields in 2023 (most recent data). Arizona’s 8.1% bioscience job growth outpaced the national rate.

Venture capital funding approached a record high in 2024 at $289 million.

About the Biosciences in Arizona

What is bioscience and why does it matter?

Bioscience focuses on the research, development and commercialization of therapies and products to prevent, diagnose and treat disease, improve health outcomes, enhance crops, and generate solutions for environmental and industrial challenges. It employs scientific methods to answer questions about what life is, how it works, and how it changes.

Arizona’s bioscience ecosystem is made up of six subsectors:

Agriculture Feedstock and Industrial Biosciences: Agricultural R&D, processing, and organic chemical and fertilizer manufacturing.

Bioscience-Related Distribution: Highly regulated coordination and delivery of pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and ag biotech.

Hospitals: Providers of clinical care and partners in discovery and commercialization with universities, research institutions, and private companies.

Medical Devices and Equipment: Development and manufacturing of medical implants, instruments, supplies, and lab equipment.

Pharmaceuticals: Development and production of biological and medicinal products, pharmaceuticals, and diagnostic substances.

Research, Testing and Medical Laboratories: Biotech and other life-science R&D, and testing and medical labs.

Five Roadmap Goals

Arizona’s Bioscience Roadmap will establish the state as a nationally recognized leader through five overarching goals. We will focus on proven strengths. Competencies including cancer research, neurosciences, and bioengineering remain foundational. We will also advance high-potential, emerging areas.

Amplify the Collaborative Gene

Accelerate Research into Impact

Elevate Arizona’s Startup Ecosystem

Strengthen Talent & Career Pathways

Tell Arizona’s Bioscience Story

Arizona’s Bioscience Timeline

2000–04Prop. 301 passage secures estimated $1.25B over 20 years for university research.
Flinn Foundation commissions the inaugural Arizona’s Bioscience Roadmap, a 10-year plan to establish the state as a bioscience leader in the Southwest.
BIO5 Institute debuts at U of A; ASU’s Biodesign Institute established.
TGen opens; International Genomics Consortium locates in Arizona.
Legislature approves $440M to build university research facilities.
Phoenix Biomedical Campus (now Phoenix Bioscience Core) established, downtown Phoenix.

View detailed timeline

Yearly Progress Reports

View and download past reports on yearly bioscience progress in Arizona.