ARIZONA RESOURCES • TECHNOLOGY BUSINESS CLIMATE

Governor Janet Napolitano is committed to improving the in-state technology climate.  So are visionary leaders at Arizona’s universities.   In Arizona, world-class university talent collaborates regularly with government and community resources and leadership to generate stronger, more vital research and development programs at all levels of study and business.

Notable examples of recent Arizona collaborations and accomplishments:

In June 2006, the Arizona legislature approved $35 million in funding for the 21st Century Competitive Initiative Fund. This fund, a public-private partnership, will support medical, scientific, and engineering research programs and infrastructure in targeted fields, particularly biosciences.

Governor Janet Napolitano signed into law a series of business tax relief measures to attract, expand and retain high value growth companies throughout Arizona.  Since July 2006, the angel investor's tax credit assists early-stage companies in attracting the much-needed capital to expand operations and bring new ideas, products and services to market. Another initiative, referred to as sales factor allows companies to use a new formula to calculate corporate income taxes, which will ultimately inject more dollars into the state's economy.  The last measure championed by the business community, offers substantial business property tax relief through a reduction in the assessment ratio and will benefit businesses of all sizes.

Support from the Arizona legislature and leadership from the Arizona Board of Regents initiated a new downtown Phoenix Biomedical Campus.  This new city center for biomedical business and research will include an extension of the University of Arizona College of Medicine and College of Pharmacy, and the Arizona State University College of Nursing.

The City of Scottsdale and the Arizona State University (ASU) Foundation are currently developing the ASU Scottsdale Center for New Technology and Innovation.  The center will focus on technology commercialization, entrepreneurship and business development, and will comprise approximately 1.2 million square feet of space, about 90% of which will likely be research/office space.

In 2005, the Critical Path Institute (C-Path) was formed in Tucson.  The institute is affiliated with three founding partners: the University of Arizona (UA), SRI International (formerly known as the Stanford Research Institute), and the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  UA provides the academic home and infrastructure for C-Path's educational and research programs, and lends it an environment of innovation and inquiry.  Participating FDA scientists provide first hand knowledge of the regulatory process, and a wealth of experience in evaluating new pharmaceutical agents.  SRI brings practical experience in pharmaceutical development, scientific expertise, and a track record of commercializing new drugs.  C-Path's mission is to create innovative programs in education and research that enable the safe acceleration of new medicine development.

In 2002, a public-private partnership raised more than $100 M to launch the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen).  Land, office space and building contraction occurred in under 18 months, creating the catalyst for a revitalized downtown Phoenix area.