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| Work on bioscience research center set to
begin |
| By Ed Taylor, Tribune |
| Arizona's biotech industry will get a
shot in the arm Friday with the groundbreaking of a new bioscience
research center in downtown Phoenix. |
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Officially called the Phoenix Bioscience
Center at Copper Square, the complex is expected to have an impact
far beyond the Phoenix city limits, bolstering a biotechnology
business cluster that is developing across Arizona.
Underscoring the importance that many state officials attach
to the $46 million project, Gov. Janet Napolitano is scheduled
to be among the speakers at the ceremony, which is expected to
attract hundreds of VIPs. The 170,000-square-foot center will be the
headquarters for the International Genomics Consortium and the
Translational Genomics Research Institute, two nonprofit
organizations developing improved treatments for genetically related
diseases.
The consortium is creating a database of genomic
information that the institute, under the leadership of renowned
geneticist Dr. Jeffrey Trent, will use to develop treatments for
cancer and other complex diseases. The six-story building is
scheduled to be completed by the end of next year.
Phoenix
is building the structure and will own the building, leasing it to
the institute, the consortium and other tenants. The institute will
occupy three floors, and the consortium will occupy one floor. One
floor will be occupied by a branch of the National Institute of
Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, one of the National
Institutes of Health. The other floor will be available to start-up
biotech companies.
Once the building is completed, the
institute will vacate temporary labs and office space the group has
been using in Tempe. Scientists have gotten a head start by leasing
space from OrthoLogic Corp. and occupying donated space from Banner
Health Arizona at the Papago Park Center.
The institute,
which began operations last fall, has about 100 employees, about
half scientists and the other half administrators, said spokeswoman
Francie Noyes. The group plans to reach 300 employees within three
to four years, she said.
Two research programs have already
been set up in DNA sequencing and neuro-genomics, she said. In
addition to finding cures for serious diseases, supporters hope the
bioscience center will serve as the foundation for a major
biotechnology industry in Arizona. Discoveries made by center
researchers could be commercialized by new start-up companies,
creating thousands of new, well-paying jobs.
A study by
Battelle Memorial Institute concluded that Arizona's biotech
industry could grow by an additional 12,900 jobs and an additional
120 firms by 2012. That would more than double the size of the
state's biotech sector, which has about 450 establishments employing
9,100, the institute said.
One of the major benefits would
be to diversify the state's economy into a field that is expected to
be one of the fastest growing in the nation, the study
said.
“The challenge is for Arizona to catch up to other
states by building a world-class research base,” said Walt Plosila,
Battelle's vice president for public technology management.
Jason Harris, manager of the project for Phoenix, said the
TGen/IGC building will be just the first structure in what will
become a 15-acre biosciences education and research campus in
downtown Phoenix. Eventually about 1 million square feet of labs,
offices, classrooms and other facilities could be developed at the
site, he said. The property, which is bounded by Van Buren,
Fillmore, Fifth and Seventh streets, is the former location of
Phoenix Union High School.
The Arizona BioMedical
Collaborative, a partnership of the three state universities, could
develop its own facilities on the campus devoted to biotech work
force education and research activities. That project is contingent
on the Arizona Legislature approving a $440 million research
funding package for the universities, Harris said.
Three
historic Phoenix Union High School buildings may be refurbished by
the universities to serve as offices and classrooms, he said. |
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| Contact Ed Taylor by email, or
phone (480) 898-6537 | |
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