Gov. Martin O'Malley unveiled yesterday a proposal to invest $1.1 billion over the next decade to cement Maryland's status as a pre-eminent hub for biotechnology research, including stem-cell studies aimed at finding breakthrough medical advances.
The funding, which would build on existing tax credits and grant programs, would be used to create a biotechnology center, finance capital projects and make equity investments in start-up companies. O'Malley, a Democrat, said the money could transform Maryland - where the human genome was mapped in 2001 - into a global leader in personalized medicine or the use of genetics to tailor treatments.
"Bioscience is in many ways the key to unlocking our future economic potential as a state," O'Malley said in a speech at the Johns Hopkins University. "At the same time, it allows us to offer moral leadership as we seek to extend healing and human compassion to our neighbors all around the globe."
Maryland is among several states, including New York and California, racing to attract the growing biotech industry. Massachusetts Gov. Deval L. Patrick signed legislation yesterday that would pump $1 billion into that state's life sciences industry during the next decade. O'Malley made a point of saying that his 10-year plan would be the largest per capita investment of any state's in the nation. It marks Maryland's first long-term commitment to funding bioscience research.
O'Malley would fund many of the new programs in his budget next year, but it is unclear how new spending initiatives will be received in the General Assembly, which raised taxes and cut spending during a contentious special legislative session late last year. If this spring's budget battles over funding for stem-cell research are an indication - some lawmakers objected to the funding on both fiscal and moral grounds - the governor could face resistance.
The plan calls for about $19 million in new spending next year, with some initiatives increased annually over the next decade. The O'Malley administration estimated that the state's investment could be used to leverage an added $6.3 billion in private and federal investment.
Industry observers said yesterday that Maryland is uniquely positioned to capitalize on biotechnology, with its prestigious university research facilities and the National Institutes of Health and Army laboratories at Fort Detrick located in the state. Celera Genomics, a private biotech company based in Rockville, made global headlines when it sequenced the entire human genome in 2001.Maryland's economy has undergone a long-term shift away from manufacturing to the services sector, and many economic development officials see biotechnology as key to that transformation.
