Montgomery may get boost from $1B biotech initiative

WASHINGTON (Map, News) - Montgomery County could be the big winner under Gov. Martin O’Malley’s proposal to invest more than $1 billion in the state’s bioscience industry, depending on how funds are allocated.

Last week, O’Malley proposed spending $1.1 billion over the next 10 years to attract and grow Maryland life science firms — the governor’s staff said it would be the largest per capita investment in the industry made by any state in the country. Roughly 60 percent of the state’s more than 400 biotech firms are in Montgomery County, and many local leaders believe any boost in biotech funding automatically means good things for the region.

The money would expand technology incubators used to help small companies take their ideas to market, boost stem cell research and quadruple state tax credits for biotech firms over the next five years. It would also create a Maryland Biotech Center, where industry experts would work to improve Maryland’s relationship with federal labs, universities and private sector firms.

“Montgomery County biotech companies garnished 66 percent of the entire allocation of tax credits [for biotech firms] in 2007 and 75 percent of the allocation in 2008,” said David Edgerley, Maryland’s secretary of business and economic development. “And guess who has five of the 19 biotech incubators in the state that can access this money? Montgomery County, by proximity and presence of the industry, will see substantial benefit from this.”

Still, some Montgomery leaders were hoping for more.

Montgomery Council President Mike Knapp said he wished there had been specific funding earmarked for Montgomery projects, because the county has been responsible for much of the state’s industry prowess.

“It seems odd to me that in a $1.1 billion investment, there wasn’t anything clearly targeting the biggest biotech area in the state,” Knapp said. “We need to make sure those state assets and resources are available and used in our area.”

Montgomery County Del. Brian Feldman, who chairs the county’s House delegation and sponsored the bills that created tax credits for biotech firms, said he’s confident Montgomery would not be left out in the cold.

“I am not as concerned about the lack of specificity,” Feldman said. “I think we’re well-positioned to benefit whenever they boost funding in this area.”

kmiller@dcexaminer.com

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