Arizona Bioscience News: Tucson biotech firm Reglagene battles cancer; Arizona startups raise $71M; NAU concussion study shows promising results

April 13, 2017

By Matt Ellsworth

Tucson Tech: Biotech firm is advancing method to ‘turn off’ cancer / Arizona Daily Star

Though Tucson-based Reglagene LLC is just an infant of a biotech company, it’s already crawling forward with its technology to selectively turn genes on and off to combat cancer.

PwC: Arizona startups raise more than $71 million this quarter / Phoenix Business Journal

Ten Arizona startups, including bioscience companies, brought in $71.14 million in investments during the first quarter of 2017, led by Centauri Health Solutions, with $50.25 million in funding from Silversmith Capital Partners, according to the MoneyTree venture-capital report.

Hope through Hollis: Parents fund research on rare brain cancer that took son’s life / azfamily.com

The family members of 7-year-old Hollis Doherty, who passed away this year after a battle with a rare form of brain cancer, have donated $30,000 to the Translational Genomics Research Institute for scientists and physicians to study the disease.

Concussion study on NAU athletes show promising results for early detection / KJZZ

The results from a two-year study on Northern Arizona University football players, in which physicians monitored hits from afar, showed that a sideline tech and the physician agreed on diagnosing a concussion.

The Biodesign Institute undergoes major changes, continuing past trends / State Press

Nearly 15 years after its introduction to the Tempe campus, ASU’s Biodesign Institute is changing and expanding with a new director and construction underway on its third building, which is expected to be finished in 2018.

My Turn: How TGen could take the pain out of cancer / Arizona Republic (Op-ed)

Jeffrey Trent, president and research director at Translational Genomics Research Institute, writes that precision medicine could revolutionize patient care as we know it, and this year Phoenix’s TGen is becoming a larger player in it.

Jeff Stevens: Robert Robbins’ vision, abilities, dedication will move University of Arizona forward / Arizona Daily Star (Op-ed)

Jeff Stevens, CEO of Western Refining Logistics and a University of Arizona graduate who served on the Presidential Search Advisory Committee, writes that new UA president Dr. Robert Robbins’ charge is nothing less than to ensure UA achieves new heights in academic discovery and achievement on behalf of Arizonans and future generations of students.

Arizona Board of Regents approves nearly $1M contract for new UA president / Arizona Daily Star

Dr. Robert C. Robbins, who will begin his role as University of Arizona president on June 1, will be paid $988,000 a year in salary and benefits as part of his three-year contract approved by the Arizona Board of Regents.

Incubating and accelerating success: Peoria in talks with ASU to expand BioInspire program / YourWestValley.com

Arizona State University wants to operate and manage the BioInspire program, which was launched in 2011 as Peoria’s technology and biomedical incubator, in partnership with the city.

How will new freedom for pharmaceuticals affect Arizona? / KJZZ

An interview with the Goldwater Institute and a Valley surgeon discusses the Free Speech in Medicine Act, which is intended to give drug companies the freedom to tell physicians and other medical professionals about so-called off-label uses for approved pharmaceuticals.