When Mayo Clinic was evaluating a massive investment to build a biotechnology innovation hub in the Phoenix area, leaders considered many attributes in the Valley of the Sun, including access to land, talent and workforce development, attractiveness to new movers, ease of travel, as well as world-class healthcare and clinical research in a business-friendly environment.

These qualities have helped the Greater Phoenix region quietly emerge as a leader for bioscience and healthcare innovation, and Mayo Clinic saw an opportunity to contribute to—and build upon—that momentum.

Set to open in 2027, phase one of Mayo’s Discovery Oasis development will establish a cutting-edge ecosystem where biotechnology companies, researchers, educators and healthcare providers converge to solve some of the world’s most complex medical challenges.

“At Mayo Clinic, we see Discovery Oasis as an opportunity to invite other healthcare innovation companies and technology leaders to come collaborate with us, to have access to our doctors, our nurses, our researchers, our patients and our expansive clinical data so together we can expedite the delivery of new healthcare solutions,” says Aric Bopp, who is executive director of Discovery Oasis. “And our location is a strong advantage. Phoenix is strategically positioned to really dominate the West Coast of the U.S.”

A hub for life sciences

Greater Phoenix is no newcomer on the health innovation front. In fact, the 120-acre Discovery Oasis campus is already in good company, with a location adjacent to Arizona State University’s Health Futures Center and the Mayo Clinic hospital campus (one of two in the region, with another in Scottsdale). Greater Phoenix is also home to the Phoenix Bioscience Core, a 30-acre academic and scientific research campus that’s home to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen, which is part of City of Hope) and Dignity Health’s Cancer Institute, among many others. Nearby, the Barrow Neurological Institute was selected as the pilot site for Elon Musk’s Neuralink PRIME study. Arizona is a leading state for clinical trials, ranking ninth in the U.S. and third in the West.

The region has made more than $3 billion in strategic investments in its emerging bioscience and healthcare enterprise and research capabilities in recent years, and regional collaborators like the Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC) continue laying the groundwork to ensure there’s proper infrastructure to support the area’s growth, and to make it easy for enterprises of all types to move in and quickly do business.

GPEC acts as a one-stop-shop for organizations that are considering a move to Greater Phoenix, helping business leaders locate the right real estate, research competitors, secure capital, unlock tax incentives and connect with other local businesses, all at no cost. The entire mission of the organization, which was named the top economic development organization in the country by the International Economic Development Council, is to advocate for emerging and established companies and industries, and empower them to adapt and thrive in the Southwest.

Allie Bakovic, PhD., who is vice president, bioscience business development with GPEC, says when enterprises relocate to Phoenix, they’re often surprised by the convenience and access to resources. “It’s just easy to do business here. The permitting and zoning process here is a lot faster, and so your operations can start a lot sooner than some of our competitor markets,” she says. “People are also surprised by how quickly they’re able to connect with others in the community, whether they’re looking to get in front of venture capitalists, other entrepreneurs or the regional university systems.”

The availability of talent also comes as a pleasant bonus to businesses, says Bakovic. Phoenix is home to more than a half-dozen colleges and universities, including Arizona State University, University of Arizona, Northern Arizona University, Creighton University Health Sciences Campus, Grand Canyon University and Maricopa Community Colleges, making Greater Phoenix the fourth most populous college region in the country, according to Newsweek, trailing only Chicago, Los Angeles and New York.

A bright future

When Bopp moved to Phoenix 10 years ago from Virginia, he was enchanted by the seemingly endless days of blue skies and the natural beauty of the desert. “We literally wake up every day in Phoenix, Arizona to palm trees and sunshine,” he says.

He had some early questions about the availability of water in the Southwest, but his fears were assuaged when he learned about the conservation efforts that have taken shape in Arizona over the years. Despite a massive growth in population, the state uses roughly the same amount of water today as it did in the 1950s. “Arizona should be commended for the work that we’ve done as a state and as a community to protect water resources and to be in a good position to have adequate water into our future,” says Bopp. “We don’t have to lose sleep at night over water.”

Rather, Bopp is focused on the bright future of his adopted hometown. He loves letting the secret out of the bag about Phoenix and tells people all the time that it’s an incredible place to live, work and raise a family. When he thinks ahead 10 or 20 years, he imagines endless possibilities.

“We have the opportunity to build something unique, build something larger in scale than exists anywhere else in the U.S.,” says Bopp. “We can do it very purposefully. We can do it with strategic intent and strategic patience and build something world-class, so that 10 years from now, while people talk about Boston and San Diego—and those will always be life science hubs—people will also talk about Phoenix, Arizona and the incredible things happening here, too.”

Ready to accelerate your bioscience operation? Explore how GPEC can help.

Boomtown

Greater Phoenix is the largest metropolitan region in the Southwestern United States with nearly 5 million residents. Spreading across Maricopa and Pinal counties with a combined 14,600 square miles, there’s plenty of room to support the growth. Here’s a look at the numbers*:

• 1.5: Percent by which Phoenix is expected to grow annually over the next eight years, which is more than double the national growth rate.
• 4th: Rank in U.S. metro areas when it comes to growth in bio-science related jobs
• 26,000: Number of bioscience-related jobs in the region—an increase of 66% since 2015, more than 2.5 times the national growth rate.
• $623.3 million: Amount Arizona received in total life sciences VC funding between 2019 and 2023. 1st: Rank in National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding growth over the past five years.

*Source: GPEC | Published Dec. 9, 2024 |
By Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC)