BioTech

BizTUCSONOctober 21, 2025

4 minutes read

Leveraging a Region Rich in Medical Research, New Potential

By Tara Kirkpatrick

Southern Arizona has proven fruitful ground for innovation in biotechnology, and the future holds promise, with continued momentum and investment.

Anchored by global players such as Roche Tissue Diagnostics and Critical Path Institute, as well as University of Arizona, this region continues to bolster its biotech sector and eyes the potential of AI, medical devices and more.

In fact, a new Arizona Bioscience Roadmap–which has driven state growth in this industry since 2002– was just unveiled here this fall. It builds upon our emerging biotech hub with priorities to boost it to a nationally recognized level.

“Arizona has critical mass without the burden of mass,” noted venerable UA neuroscientist Roberta Diaz-Brinton, director of the UA Center for Innovation in Brain Science. “Particularly true about Tucson. You can be on supercharged speed here in Tucson.”

The Region for Roche, Critical Path Institute

There’s no overstating the importance of Roche Tissue Diagnostics’ presence and expansion in Oro Valley.

Just as Thomas R. Brown could be called the father of tech here, UA pathologist Dr. Thomas Grogan is that for bioscience, launching Ventana Medical Systems Inc. in 1985 with an idea to automate cancer diagnostic testing. Swiss drug giant Roche acquired his company in 2008 and now employs more than 1,800 people at its tissue diagnostics campus north of Tucson.

Roche has since doubled down on the region, expanding manufacturing operations with a new 60,000 square-foot-facility in Marana in 2022 and the purchase of the 112,500-square-foot, former Sanofi/Icagen building in 2024 focused on personalized healthcare. This year, Roche announced continued investment in R&D and manufacturing in the U.S., which should benefit this region.

“We’re up to 10 buildings on our Oro Valley campus, with that 10th building specifically focused on our personalized healthcare business, said Laura Apitz, lifecycle leader for Roche Tissue Diagnostics. “We’ve received great support for continuing to evolve our next generation, automated instruments and will eventually expand our manufacturing area to support this next gen product line.”

Looking ahead, Roche is also focused on the digital space for diagnostics.

“We’re digitizing many of our diagnostic assays (tests), so that pathologists will be able to view patient samples on a computer screen instead of, or in addition to, looking at that test through a microscope. We’re advancing imaging technology to further the diagnosis. It helps with speed, accessibility and… getting the right treatment to the right patient.”

Also key in this region is Critical Path Institute, which just celebrated 20 years in Tucson. This global nonprofit has powered new drugs to market smarter and faster–especially for diseases with unmet needs–by bringing together pharmaceutical companies, regulatory agencies, researchers and patient advocacy groups for shared data and streamlined results.

“From an operational mindset, there’s a lot of value with our headquarters being part of Arizona bioscience,” said C-Path CEO Dr. Klaus Romero. “We’re strengthening that whole dynamic in Southern Arizona.”

From SynCardia to Startups

With its tremendous amount of medical research, Southern Arizona has set the scene for many biotech successes.

It’s been more than 20 years since the SynCardia Total Artificial Heart received landmark commercial approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Based on significant research done at UA, SynCardia Systems was founded by UA cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Jack Copeland, biomedical engineer Richard G. Smith and interventional radiologist Dr. Marvin Slepian in 2001.

To this day, the success of SynCardia’s Total Artificial Heart is unequalled and there are more than 2,000 implants at more than 130 hospitals in 25 countries. Just this year, SynCardia’s parent company, Picard Medical Inc., completed a $17 million initial public offering.

Numerous Tucson startups continue to pursue world-changing ideas.

Emagine Solutions Technology is a biotech startup to make pregnancy care safer, through handheld ultrasound and software to improve outcomes, especially high-risk ones. The company just completed a redesign of its app that now includes an AI-powered doula.

“Building technology is great here because of the proximity and connection to University of Arizona, a world-class research institution, as well as organizations like Flinn Foundation, UACI and Startup Zones who are dedicated to pushing the region’s innovators forward,” said Emagine founder and CEO Courtney Williams.

Precision Epigenomics, a molecular diagnostic startup on the Tech Parks Arizona campus, has developed an FDA-approved liquid biopsy test, EPISEEK, to detect over 50 early stage forms of cancer. The test has been commercially available for almost a year.

Aspiro Therapeutics, launched this year, is focused on a novel inhaled therapy for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease based on a natural lung protein with protective properties. It’s based on technology developed at and licensed by the UA.

And these are just a scratch of the surface.

New UA Undergraduate Degree in Medical Devices

Seeing the lucrative potential in the burgeoning medical devices industry–responsible for more than two million U.S. jobs–UA College of Medicine-Tucson will soon offer a new bachelor’s degree in medical device development and application. Enrollment begins in spring 2026.

Students will take introductory medical school courses, including simulation training, to become versed in anatomy, physiology and medical terminology. The program will be collaborative between engineers, physicians, scientists, lawyers and more so graduates will be equipped for corporate, government, research and private sector jobs.

“There is nothing quite like this in the country,” said Dr. Michael Abecassis, the Humberto and Czarina Lopez endowed dean of the UA College of Medicine.

Arizona Bioscience Roadmap, Reboot

Since 2002, the Arizona Bioscience Roadmap, launched by the Flinn Foundation, has supplied the strategic vision to strengthen this sector. Its 2025 update, announced in September, lays out many priorities over the next five to 10 years that Southern Arizona should heed.

It encourages new, inventive collaborations with sectors such as aerospace and military. It calls for strengthening startup programs to attract more interest and capital from global bioscience firms. The roadmap also heralds STEM education efforts to equalize our students in foundational math and science with their U.S. peers.

Finally, it’s imperative to reaffirm the bioscience story as a means to economic impact so regional leaders understand the investment needed.