Almost 380 bioscience companies employing 16,000 people are located in the Rocky Mountain region. 80% of the state's bioscience jobs are clustered along the metro corridor of Fort Collins, Denver, Boulder, and Colorado Springs. Easy access to research universities and good supply of qualified employees make these cities a natural for partnerships between academia and private enterprise, which are critical for scientific research and technology transfer. The new Fitzsimons BioBusiness Incubator in Aurora is dedicated to forming and growing companies statewide.