Flinn Foundation 2006 Annual Report

The Next Step | Page 1 of 2 | 1 | 2 | Next > Contents
the Next Step
In 2001, the Flinn Foundation committed to help Arizona become a leader in the biosciences. Now, after several years of measurable progress, it's time for Arizona to take the big step forward. To be at the forefront of medical science, we must turn research into new technologies, firms, products, and jobs.

In today’s rapidly evolving global economy, a state or region gains competitive advantage by accessing and controlling knowledge-intensive discoveries that produce next-generation products. A recent report on innovation by the National Governors Association encourages states to “accelerate their efforts to become places where new ideas are discovered, invented or given their first big break – or they risk becoming economic backwaters.”

This marks a shift from building a state or local economy around natural resources such as land, water and minerals, and an abundant low-cost labor supply, to one driven by public- and private-sector investments in knowledge-generating assets – especially those in science, engineering, and medicine.

Much as information technologies drove economic progress in the final half of the 20th century, many economists predict that new discoveries in biology – such as mapping the human genome – will drive 21st-century economies. Together, biologists, information technologists, and engineers can now rapidly analyze hundreds of thousands of tissue specimens to pinpoint genetic factors in human disease, leading to medical discoveries that hold great promise in identifying and reversing disease progression.

* According to Battelle, a national leader in regional technology-based economic development, the “biosciences” embraces the study and application of knowledge about genetic coding to diagnose and treat disease, improve the world’s food resources, combat environmental threats, and enhance health care. “Biotechnology” is the application of technology to these studies.

In the last decade these new discoveries have led to the formation of hundreds of companies engaged in drug development, medical implants and devices, new technologies in agriculture and food processing, biofuels, biosecurity, and numerous other bio-related applications.* Nationally, the biosciences is one of the fastest-growing segments of the U.S. economy.

States that have not traditionally invested heavily to build their bioscience base have begun to do so, spending billions of dollars to strengthen their research infrastructure (research facilities and equipment) and encouraging the commercialization of discoveries coming out of their universities and research institutes. Some states and regions, recognizing that it is unreasonable to be strong in all areas of bioscience research, are strategically directing resources to develop signature opportunities around which to build a bioscience research and industry base.

Arizona is building a unique industrial-style informatics and discovery infrastructure that involves complementary cross-disciplinary technologies and extensive collaborations among universities, research centers, and industry, designed to move research discoveries quickly into medical use. Anchor institutions include the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) in Phoenix that applies breakthroughs from the Human Genome Project to the development of diagnostics and therapies for complex diseases; TGen North, a pathogen genomics and biodefense research facility in Flagstaff; and the Critical Path Institute (C-Path) in Tucson that works with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and pharmaceutical and diagnostic firms to develop and test procedures to accelerate the safe application and introduction of medical therapies.

In just four years, for example, TGen has established collaborative research programs statewide, reached an annual operating budget of about $60 million, and hired nearly 300 scientists and technicians. Most importantly, in collaboration with medical facilities in Arizona and throughout the world, TGen scientists have reported breakthrough discoveries in cancer research and neurological disorders such as autism and Alzheimer’s disease. Its short-term economic impact has been profound. Some states and regions are strategically directing resources to develop signature opportunities around which to build a bioscience research and industry base. It has launched new businesses in Arizona that have attracted millions of dollars from out-of-state investors and sparked private-sector investments in new research and medical facilities.

Such research yields the greatest return when planted in a state or region that provides a host of interrelated elements. These include:

• Universities and research laboratories to create new ideas;

• Superior infrastructure, including labs, transportation, and high-level communication assets;

• Investment capital and an entrepreneurial culture that moves new ideas to the marketplace;

• Smart people and the quality of life to attract them.

Arizona’s Bioscience Roadmap – the ongoing, evolving blueprint developed by Battelle consultants with Flinn Foundation funding in 2002 – brings together a broad base of research, medical, government, and business partners to develop and weave these elements together strategically. Perhaps no other state or region has moved forward with such collective resolve so swiftly and comprehensively to assess its competencies and gaps, and built the ongoing partnerships to generate the assets that confer competitive advantage.