In late 2021, Mayo Clinic announced that it had purchased 228 acres adjacent to its campus in North Phoenix for $139 million to create a biotechnology corridor called Discovery Oasis. The project will encompass approximately 3.3 million square feet across 120 acres at build out, creating a community of established and early-stage biotechnology companies, medical practitioners, researchers, entrepreneurs and educators exploring the frontier of healthcare innovation.
Discovery Oasis will add to the City of Phoenix’s growing bioscience sector, epitomized by the designation of different bioscience hubs across the municipality. Claudia Whitehead, bioscience healthcare program manager for the City of Phoenix, explains that there are currently four hubs, including the Phoenix Medical Quarter in Midtown Phoenix, the Phoenix Bioscience Core in the downtown area, the Phoenix Cotton Center near Sky Harbor International Airport and Discovery Oasis in North Phoenix.
“We have four major hubs,” she continues, “and the purpose behind those designations is because there’s such a large concentration of health innovation that’s happening in those areas, but each have different assets. Depending on where a company is looking to connect in the community, each of those hubs have a different opportunity for those collaborations, whether it’s just connecting with other innovators or working with them to accelerate their own ideas through the discovery phase and delivering those innovations.”
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Part of Whitehead’s role includes working with companies that are looking at locating in Phoenix and connecting them to the appropriate bioscience hub. That includes finding out what they’re looking for in those collaborations so they can get plugged in as quickly as possible. Both startups and more established companies find homes in the different bioscience hubs, creating an ecosystem of collaboration.
“There are amazing innovations coming out of the universities, research hospitals, other institutions and from companies themselves,” Whitehead says. “It’s a really exciting time. Since 2019, there has been $4.2 billion in new capital investment and more than 6.2 million square feet of new primary facilities, creating more than 11,000 new quality jobs for our residents. These four hubs communicate to the market where the concentration of these efforts are occurring.”
Discovery Oasis
Designated as a bioscience hub by the City of Phoenix, Discovery Oasis is a massive undertaking from one of the world’s top healthcare institutions — Mayo Clinic. Aric Bopp, executive director of Mayo Clinic’s Discovery Oasis, explains that the purpose of Discovery Oasis comes down to a simple mantra: the needs of the patient come first.
“As we think about patient needs and healthcare innovation, how are we going to expedite the delivery of world class healthcare technology to patients more quickly,” Bopp continues. “We think by having companies from around the world co-locate with and work with our doctors, nurses, clinicians, researchers and educators, that will enable more speedy progress that wouldn’t be realized if everybody operated in silos.”
The international reputation of Mayo Clinic, Whitehead adds, is a major attraction for biotechnology companies looking to locate in the Valley.
“They are the No. 1 solid transplant organization in the country,” she continues. “If there are companies looking to advance technologies that ensure a transplant recipient isn’t rejecting an organ, or anything along those lines, being closely connected to Mayo Clinic is a great advantage. They can work with the researchers and physicians that are practicing with Mayo Clinic to accelerate those innovations.”
Discovery Oasis will span 120 acres, and while Bopp notes that Mayo Clinic wants to build as quickly as possible, the project could take upwards of three decades to bring to fruition.
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“The best comparison I can make is to SkySong in South Scottsdale,” he continues. “Now everybody sees that project as an overnight success story. It’s five buildings on about 25 acres totaling around 1 million square feet, and that overnight success story took 20 years to develop. We have an opportunity three times the size of that in a niche market, so I could see this being worked for more than 30 years.”
That said, the best way to complete a project of this magnitude is to start one building at a time. Bopp says that the first building will offer a variety of spaces with the ability for companies to take an entire floor if it needs it, or just a portion. Some may even take an entire building, but Bopp suspects that most of the facilities will house multiple tenants.
Having a mix of startup companies alongside established businesses provides challenges, considering the needs will differ between those users.
“One of the things that keeps me up at night is the physical appearance of the buildings,” Bopp continues. “As an organization, we have very high standards for our facilities, and striking the right balance between a beautiful, world-class facility as opposed to a potentially scaled downed, more affordable facility is a determination we’re going to have to make, because everything does have an impact on the end user of these facilities. Today, we’re working with a variety of development groups to try to understand what that ideal solution looks like.”
A growing ecosystem
In 2021, the City of Phoenix was ranked No. 5 in the nation among emerging life science markets, reflecting the strength of the Valley’s bioscience industry. Boston and San Diego remain the top markets, but Bopp says that Phoenix’s reputation is on the rise.
“We are the definition of an emerging market, but the pieces of the puzzle are coming together at the right time in a great community,” he continues. “We’re bullish on the Phoenix market and the future opportunities we’re going to see. At the end of the day, it’s about getting companies to come to Phoenix as opposed to Houston or San Diego, and we’re excited to be part of the ecosystem.”
Phoenix has a competitive edge considering the access to talent thanks to the sheer number of students that graduate from the state’s universities. There is also a demographic advantage as people continue to make Arizona their home.
“We also have fabulous research taking place here, not only at the Mayo Clinic, but at the other healthcare institutions in Arizona and at the universities,” Bopp says. “One of the things I love about ASU is that they talk about research for the purpose of practical application. As we continue to conduct research in that way, that will drive additional outcomes for entrepreneurship and innovation.”
The Valley’s growing semiconductor industry also provides Phoenix with a unique asset considering that medical devices and equipment in hospitals or home settings all require semiconductors to operate.
“The fact that we have such a strong advanced manufacturing presence is going to be helpful. I’m the proud parent of two Type 1 diabetics, and they always have a Dexcom and Omnipod on their bodies. I can only imagine the technological sophistication that exists in those devices,” Bopp says. “Arizona also has a workforce with a long, rich history within the semiconductor industry that knows how to work with these complex technologies.”
As Phoenix’s bioscience hubs explore the frontiers of life sciences and technology, Bopp sees Discovery Oasis as being an integral player in helping give patients the best healthcare outcomes possible.
“We’ve had wonderful interest in the project to date, but we’re trying to very thoughtful and exercise strategic patience as we keep this development off,” he concludes. “We think it’s going to be a real game changer, not just for Phoenix or Arizona, but for the U.S. as a whole. It’s hard to imagine many places that have the medical presence we do along with a solid tier one research university in ASU that’s a part of a vibrant, growing community like we have here in the Valley.”
