As the leader of a Tucson-based organization that has benefited tremendously from public and private startup funding, I appreciated the recognition of this element as crucial to a healthy economy in the July 7 article, “Report Calls Tucson Economically Distressed,” by Luis F. Carrasco.
Critical Path Institute (C-Path), a not-for-profit organization headquartered in Tucson, is the embodiment of a public–private partnership model for startups where investments from federal, state and local governments, as well as the private sector, are vital to sustain them.
Thanks to generous support from these sources, in addition to a critical $13 million investment from Science Foundation Arizona, along with subsequent grants from organizations like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Arizona’s own Flinn Foundation, C-Path is now celebrating its 10th year of operations.
In 2005, because of $10 million dollars pledged over five years by local municipalities, private corporations and individual citizens, C-Path was able to open its doors with five employees and a compelling vision to reduce the amount of time, money and risk it takes to bring a drug to market so that patients could benefit sooner.
This initial investment by the local community has resulted in 440 percent additional revenue through 2013.
And, to meet the growing demand for our approach to achieving consensus science-based solutions, C-Path has hired 21 staff members in the past year alone, for a total of 52 employees.
The organization has also extended its reach globally through the creation of 10 consortia comprised of more than1,300 scientists working to address tough problems like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, tuberculosis and multiple sclerosis.
Our mission necessitates a high level of knowledge and expertise from the bio and data science areas, and C-Path has successfully attracted many Ph.D.- and M.D.-level scientists to provide leadership for these global teams.
The ongoing need for this kind of expertise highlights the importance of continued investment by public and private entities in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) disciplines so that organizations like C-Path can find the talent they need in Arizona.
I am very proud of the Arizonans who had the foresight and willingness to support a startup like C-Path.
To achieve big visions like “Accelerating the Path to a Healthier World,” long-term support from both the public and private sectors is critical.
C-Path is thriving today because of the generosity of many in the greater Tucson region.
We look forward to making continued returns on that investment through additional contributions to both a strong bioscience community and a healthy economy for Southern Arizona.
