2021 was a challenging year in many ways. It was also a year when AZBio Members stepped up to meet these challenges. As we look forward to 2022, we are focused on AZBio’s vision of Arizona becoming a top-ten bioscience state. We invite you to learn more about how you can get engaged with AZBio in 2022 and participate in focus initiatives designed to move us toward the top-ten.
AZBio’s mission is to support the needs of Arizona’s growing life science ecosystem.
Arizona is home to one of the top emerging life science sectors in the United States but we are not a top-ten bioscience state yet. As we work towards realizing our vision of taking our place in the top-ten, we invite you to join us by getting engaged with one or more of our 2020 Focus Initiatives.
AZBio Government Affairs Committee
Open to all employees of AZBio Member Companies, the AZBio Government Affairs Committee meets monthly and provides members with insights into the policies that impact our industry and the patients that we serve at the local, state, and national level. During Arizona’s Legislative session, AZBio also tracks all relevant legislation and provides members with ways to connect with our elected leaders. Click here to request an invitation to the AZBio Government Affairs Committee.
AZAdvances
In the United States, 70% of life science venture capital is invested into companies based in two states – California and Massachusetts. The balance is shared by the other 48 states. Attracting large scale venture investments is dependent on companies being able to access early-stage life science investment and Arizona does not have enough. That is why AZBio and the Opportunity Through Entrepreneurship Foundation (OTEF) are building AZAdvances with support from a multi-year grant from the U.S. Economic Development Agency. Designed to provide a sustainable flow of early-state life science funding in Arizona, AZAdvances is the catalyst that will help Arizona reach top-ten status. As we continue to build this resource, help is needed in the form of donations of all sizes. Donors are then recognized on the AZAdvances donor wall and help demonstrate the community’s support of this mission critical initiative.
AZBioPEERS
AZBioPEERS provides Professional Education, Engagement opportunities, and Resource Sharing by and for AZBio Member companies. Originally structured a in person events, PEERS sessions transitioned to virtual events in 2020 and 2021. These educational sessions have resulted in a continuously expanding video resource library. Future PEERS sessions are planned for 2022 and are coordinated by Natalie Mitchell, PhD with support of an AZBioPEERS Steering Committee comprised of local bioscience CEOs. The scheduled PEERS sessions are published on the events page and in the weekly AZBio IN THE LOOP newsletter.
AZBioPEERS Mentoring
AZBioPEERS Mentoring is a milestone-focused, team based mentoring progran for Early Stage Life Science Ventures. Entrepreneurs are matched with a team of highly experienced mentors (3-6 mentors) for a series of milestone-dependent structured mentoring sessions over six month period. Applications for the inaugural AZBioPEERS Mentoring cohort closed in December 2021. The program will kick off in January 2022 with a second cohort planned for July 2022. Community members interested in serving as mentors or participating as mentees should contact Natalie Mitchell.
BIO International Convention in San Diego June 13-16, 2022 at the San Diego Convention Center.
The BIO International Convention 15,000+ biotechnology and pharma leaders who come together for one week of intensive networking to discover new opportunities and promising partnerships. Educational topics span a wide spectrum of topics relating to life science and application, including drug discovery, biomanufacturing, genomics, biofuels, nanotechnology, and cell therapy. The City of Phoenix is again hosting Arizona’s presence on the exhibit floor and AZBio Members are encouraged to attend and take advantage of both educational opportunities and the BIO Partnering system to schedule meetings with industry leaders and prospective partners.
Arizona Bioscience Week September 25 – 30, 2022
The 7th annual Arizona Bioscience Week returns in-person in September 2022 with the AZBio Awards, the White Hat Life Science Innovation Conference, the AZAdvances Innovation Showcase, the Student Discovery Zone, Voice of the Patient, and more. Watch your In The Loop for more information in the coming months. Want to get involved? Contact AZBio to be introduced to this year’s committee chairs and join a planning committee.
Addressing the “Who knew” Effect
Here’s something for you to try. Take a few minutes to share something amazing that is happening in our Arizona life science community with someone who is NOT involved in the industry. Don’t be surprised if they say, “wow, who knew.” That is why AZBio is again partnering with AZ Big Media on the AZBio Special Supplement, with ABC15 on the Health Innovation Spotlight Campaign, and more. These campaigns reached over 1.6 million viewers and readers in 2021, and we’ll keep spreading the word in 2022.
Tracking Our Progress towards the top ten.
Two key partners help us track our progress an shape our actions.
Arizona’s Bioscience Roadmap is stewarded by the Flinn Foundation and has tracked our state’s progress via the longest running, continuously measured strategic plan to grow a bioscience sector in the United States. Every two years, with support of TEConomy Partners, an in-depth progress report is released that measures our progress to our baseline. The next report is scheduled for release in April 2022.
AZBio Population Peer Group Reports look beyond the borders of our state and compare Arizona’s key metrics nationally and specifically as we compare to our neighboring state and the ten states that are closest to Arizona in population. (Arizona currently ranks #14 in population nationally.) Based on datasets published by BIO and TEConomy Partners every two years, this report provides greater insight into how we rank, how we compare to peer states, how far we have to go, and what we need to work on to get there. The next population peer group reports will be released in June, 2022.
To learn more about AZBio’s Areas of Focus, visit the What We Do page.