In downtown Phoenix is the 30-acre Phoenix Bioscience Core (PBC), home to a growing number of life-science companies, eight colleges from Arizona’s three publicly funded research universities (ASU, Northern Arizona University and the University of Arizona), educational organizations, hospitals and government agencies focusing on research on cancer, vaccines, genomics and precision medicine.

The Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) is part of the City of Hope clinical research center and the International Genomics Consortium (IGC), and these are the founding institutions of the PBC. They are committed to translating genomic discoveries into cures for patients and have spun-out over 30 companies. Under the leadership of Jeffrey M. Trent, and in collaboration with key Arizona partners, TGen is at the forefront of precision-medicine clinical trials for rare cancers and other diseases.

Research, academic and clinical facilities at the PBC continue to grow; two million of its six million-square-foot buildout has been completed. The latest addition, 850 PBC, comprises 227,000 square feet of lab-enabled space and includes the new Connect Labs by Wexford, a scale-in-place space for innovative companies to collaborate with public and academic researchers and accelerate their discoveries.

Phoenix has created a perfect environment for life-science companies to collaborate and succeed. “With more people moving into Phoenix every day, there is no shortage of bright minds ready to advance the bioscience ecosystem,” (Claudia) Whitehead said. Access to experienced talent is one reason companies such as Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS), Procter & Gamble (P&G), Caris Life Sciences and W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. (Gore) are thriving in Phoenix (Fig. 1). BMS has just embarked on building a new biologics manufacturing facility in the city. “Our dedication to advancing the biosciences over the past 20 years has paid off, Phoenix is recognized as one of the fastest-growing emerging life-science markets in the nation,” she concluded.