The progress of Arizona’s bioscience sector, in relation to goals defined in Arizona’s Bioscience Roadmap, is tracked and chronicled annually, including key developments and data on jobs, wages, research funding, risk capital, and more. The most recent progress report was released in April 2026, while the new Roadmap was unveiled in September 2025.
Subscribe to Arizona Bioscience News for the latest sector developments. ➤
Current Progress Report
The April 2026 Progress Report is the first since the release of the new Roadmap. The report includes a call to action from the chair and vice chair of Arizona’s Bioscience Roadmap Steering Committee, and highlights from the past year. The report also cites Arizona’s record National Institutes of Health funding in 2025 of $397 million, increasing 14.7% between 2022 and 2025. Bioscience-related R&D expenditures at Arizona’s public universities in 2024 exceeded $855 million, also a new record, and outpaced the nation in growth. Learn more about major bioscience developments across the state in the Latest Progress of the Biosciences in Arizona.
Progress
The final data report of the second iteration of Arizona’s Bioscience Roadmap showed huge gains for Arizona in many areas, including an 8.1% increase in jobs, a new annual NIH record of $368 million, exceeding $800 million for the first time in Bio R&D, and nearly a record high in venture capital for bio companies at $289 million. Meanwhile, Mayo Clinic is making an investment of nearly $2 billion into its Phoenix campus while ASU Health announced a new downtown Phoenix location including its schools of medicine and public health.
Progress
Arizona reached record highs in 2023 in National Institutes of Health funding, bioscience jobs and wages, university research and development, and certain measures of university technology-transfer, as well as an increase in venture capital funding. The year also saw the launch of AZ Healthy Tomorrow, which charges the three state universities with expanding its medical offerings and growing Arizona’s workforce.
Progress
This brochure presents important accomplishments aligned with Arizona’s Bioscience Roadmap that occurred in 2022, from research achievements and enhanced clinical care, to further maturation of Arizona’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and steps forward by key firms. And the brochure observes that the recruitment of the world’s most advanced semiconductor manufacturer to Arizona was an important moment for the biosciences, which is drawing ever closer to other high-tech sectors.
Progress
At the 20-year mark of Arizona’s Bioscience Roadmap, the evidence is overwhelming that consistent strategies, collaboration, and long-term investments are paying off for bio—and for Arizonans. In 2021, Arizona achieved its highest share of NIH funding since the Roadmap began. Bioscience venture capital hit a new high, too. And bio employment continued to grow, paying 31% above the private-sector average.
Progress
The COVID-19 pandemic brought unspeakable suffering to Arizona, and revealed serious challenges in the state’s health-care system, especially for communities of high social vulnerability. But the crisis also brought forth the best from the state’s responsive bioscience sector, as researchers, companies, and health-care leaders made significant contributions to help us navigate 2020.
Progress
For the biosciences in Arizona, 2019 was almost entirely good news. The state’s research enterprise performed better than ever, with all-time highs for National Institutes of Health funding and university R&D. Tech transfer was looking up. Risk capital set a record. And bioscience jobs and wages continued to grow faster than the private sector as a whole. But as 2020 began, a global crisis loomed.
Progress
This 8-page brochure illustrates the importance of the robust bioscience ecosystem here in Arizona and how Arizona’s Bioscience Roadmap Steering Committee is advancing and accelerating this critical ecosystem. The brochure also highlights the advances made in the state’s bioscience sector during 2018 in areas such as entrepreneurism, venture capital, industry, research, education, and clinical care.
Progress
Arizona’s bioscience sector is adding jobs at a rate outpacing the biosciences nationally and the state’s overall private sector, while the state’s public universities are seeing increases in bioscience research funding, expenditures and tech transfer, according to the new data. However, there was a decline in bioscience venture capital over the past two years.
Progress
The year 2016 was highlighted by a $43 million precision-medicine research grant for University of Arizona, TGen’s affiliation with City of Hope and planned Phoenix expansion, the announcement of the Mayo Clinic School of Medicine in partnership with Arizona State University, and the unveiling of plans for a new biotech campus along Tempe Town Lake.
Progress
The state’s bioscience industry continues its strong job and wage growth and had its best venture capital year since 2011, according to the new data. While bio-related university startups continued to increase, there were declines in research dollars and expenditures.
Progress
The year 2014 was highlighted by the merger of Banner Health with the University of Arizona Health Network, construction on the Phoenix Biomedical Campus, progress in planning the Arizona Bioscience Corridor in northeast Phoenix, and the launch of the updated Arizona’s Bioscience Roadmap.
View Arizona’s Bioscience Roadmap 2014-2025. | Earlier progress reports are available on the First Decade page.
