Cowboy boots and rodeos. White coats and laboratories. They’re both a great match for Tucson.

With a strong push from TREO and other community leaders the bioscience industry in Southern Arizona is flourishing. There are more than 100 bioscience companies generating $6 billion in annual revenues in Tucson. They range in size from small start-ups like HTG Molecular and MSDx to global leader Ventana Medical Systems. In fewer than a dozen years Tucson put itself on the bioscience industry map.

In fact, in 2008, Business Facilities Magazine named Tucson a “rising biotechnology star” and Arizona was cited among top emerging bio-tech “hot spots.”

There are several reasons why Tucson makes an ideal community for the bioscience sector – the most important being the University of Arizona. Strong support from groups such as the Bioscience Leadership Council of Southern Arizona and the Arizona Bioindustry Association also help.

Tucson also offers a strong labor pool. With more than 20 academic and technical life-sciences programs at the UA and Pima Community College, the Tucson region offers an educated workforce and first-rate training opportunities. The region also offers cutting-edge laboratory facilities for research productivity and clinical trials management. Up the interstate, Arizona State University also provides graduates for Southern Arizona companies.

Probably the most widely known bioscience company in the area is Ventana Medical Systems, the tissue diagnostic division of the Roche Group. The company made headlines last year when it announced expansion of its Oro Valley site, adding as many as 500 jobs. The expansion will take place over five years and represents a capital investment of approximately $180 million.

Ventana is a Tucson native, “born” here some 25 years ago in