Mark A. Vulcan - a tax attorney and CPA - had something of a rock star moment when he rolled into work at the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development's Baltimore offices yesterday morning just before 8.
There, crowding in the lobby at 217 E. Redwood St., were more than a dozen slightly bedraggled biotech executives, some of whom had slept on the sidewalk, and all of whom wanted an audience with Vulcan.
At 9 a.m., he began accepting applications for a state tax credit program worth up to $250,000 apiece for eligible biotechnology business investors. So company representatives wanted to make sure their backers got a piece of the limited pie - distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.
"Over the past couple of years, there have been some early birds, but they camped out last night like we were selling Hannah Montana tickets," Vulcan said.
This is the third year that Maryland has offered the Biotechnology Investment Tax Credit and the first time anyone camped out. The credit was designed to draw funds to start-up biotech companies and attract such businesses to the state. During the first two years, the $6 million pool lasted several months. But this year, the rules changed, opening the program to more investors at much higher figures. That, coupled with a higher profile for the program, led some to fear the cash would dry up before they could ask for it.
And next year should be even more competitive: Gov. Martin O'Malley proposed significantly raising the pool during the next few years, doubling it in 2009 and doubling that by 2013.
It is the kind of incentive that can make the difference between finding funding and failing, and the executives knew it. That's why representatives from 14 companies arrived at DBED well before opening. By their estimates, the money was spoken for by the time the 12th company threw its hat into the ring, though Vulcan's team still must vet them to make sure each qualifies.
"I was worried that exactly what happened might happen," said David Block, chief executive and founder of Gliknik, a Baltimore company hoping to develop treatments for cancer and autoimmune diseases. Block showed up before dawn and was "stunned" to find four companies in line.
This is what he saw: executives camped out in lawn chairs downtown. They were there when it rained about 10:30 p.m., when the street sweepers came by about 3 a.m. and the garbage trucks at 4.
