Arizona Biosciences News

Top bioscience news, January 24-February 7: Bioscience Roadmap update shows sharp increase in jobs ¶ TGen's canine research provides insights into human cancer ¶ Carolyn Compton assumes C-Path leadership (Plus 10 more stories.)

Top bioscience news, January 18-23: Catholic Healthcare West, parent of St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center, changes its name and governing structure ¶ UA's Arizona Center for Innovation opens expanded facilities ¶ Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center at Scottsdale Healthcare turns 10 (Plus 5 more stories.)

Greg Stanton, the newly elected mayor of Phoenix, began his tenure on January 3 with a strong show of commitment to the bioscience sector, announcing a plan to develop a bioscience cluster around the Mayo Clinic hospital campus in north Phoenix and reaffirming his support for the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix. 

Top bioscience news, January 4-January 9: NAU set to establish programs on downtown Phoenix Biomedical Campus ¶ Commerce Authority establishes $3M program to support innovative small companies ¶ First details emerge on Mayo-centered bioscience nexus in North Phoenix (Plus 5 more stories.)

Top bioscience news, December 8-19: BioAccel launches network to attract funding for bio startups ¶ Mayo Clinic breaks ground on $182 million cancer-treatment center ¶ Trent to lead Stand Up to Cancer melanoma dream team (Plus three more stories.)

Top bioscience news, November 25-December 7: The Arizona Board of Regents approve an important affiliation between St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center and the University of Arizona. ¶ Forbes names Syncardia Systems Inc. of Tucson to its list of 100 most promising private companies in America. ¶ Chandler Unified School District will offer a four-year STEM diploma at Perry High School. (Plus three more stories.)

Top bioscience news, October 25-November 9: Arizona researchers and entrepreneurs apply new computing strategies to genomics ¶ ASU researchers link hormone in birth-control drug to memory loss ¶ Biofuels research in Arizona continues to draw attention (Plus 6 more stories)

Capping an evening celebrating Arizona's bioscience community, SynCardia Systems Inc., the maker of the Total Artificial Heart, was named Arizona Bioscience Company of the Year at the 2011 Arizona BioIndustry Association Awards on October 13. Robert Penny, chief executive officer of the International Genomics Consortium, was honored with the Jon W. McGarity Leadership Award.

The Flinn Foundation has announced its support for the inaugural Arizona Science and Technology (SciTech) Festival, a six-week event in cities and towns across Arizona that will showcase innovation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The Festival’s events will be centered in February 2012, coinciding with the celebration of Arizona’s centennial.

Mayo Clinic has announced that its second medical-school campus will be established in Scottsdale and could enroll a class of 48 physicians-in-training as soon as 2014. Mayo will undertake the $266 million project in conjunction with Arizona State University, whose faculty will teach courses in the science of health-care delivery.

Top bioscience news, August 23-31:  NAU/TGen's Keim leads team tracking cholera outbreak ¶ Bioscience High to derive biofuels from sunflowers ¶ Banner MD Anderson set to open in Gilbert (Plus 3 more stories)

Beginning in September, one of the nation's strongest advocates for the adoption of personalized medicine will be running one of the cornerstones of Arizona's bioscience industry. Roche Group has hired veteran diagnostics executive Mara Aspinall as the new president of Oro Valley-based Ventana Medical Systems Inc., a global leader in tissue-based cancer diagnostics.

After twelve years of investigation, a scorpion antivenom tested under the direction of University of Arizona researchers has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The new drug, which will be sold under the name Anascorp, has proved dramatically effective in reducing the potentially life-threatening symptoms of bark-scorpion stings.

Top bioscience news, July 29-August 4: FDA approval for Anascorp ¶ UA Healthcare gets an interim CEO ¶ Ventana has a new chief, too ¶ Promising findings for breast-cancer drug.

The Chan Soon-Shiong Institute for Advanced Health, which announced in June that it would establish its headquarters in downtown Phoenix, has assumed financial responsibility for National LambdaRail, a 12,000-mile fiber-optic communications network for researchers across the country. Enabled by the CSS Institute's $100 million commitment, the high-speed data link will develop a new emphasis on health information, with the CSS Institute's Arizona-based activities driving that new focus.