Biotechnology

WASHINGTON -- A long-running clash over the marketing of meat and milk from cloned animals is coming to a head in Washington as the government prepares to make a ruling that would allow the products to be sold to consumers for the first time. Critics in Congress, including Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski of Maryland, are attempting to delay the action expected from the Food and Drug Administration, which could decide as early as this week to permit sales. These opponents are rushing to gain approval by Congress this week of a provision that would encourage the FDA to delay action until further studies are completed.

INSIDE TODAY WHAT THEY'RE SAYING TODAY'S SUN COLUMNIST Not all performance-enhancement cheats are viewed the same way. Some, such as Marion Jones, are practically given a free pass for years. Sports baltimoresun.com/steele Now, television on your cell phone Verizon Wireless has launched its VCast Mobile TV service locally, allowing customers to watch real-time TV broadcasts on their cell phones. Business baltimoresun.com/himowitz OTHER VOICES Sam Sessa on Light Street Station.

U.S. grant to nurture city's biotechnology industry A large development project in East Baltimore will receive $2 million from the federal Economic Development Administration to help build a life sciences facility and biotechnology industry incubator, according to the offices of Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski and Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, whose district includes the development. The incubator will provide office space and wet labs for startup businesses that officials say they hope will nurture the city's nascent biotechnology industry.

The University of Maryland has appointed Paul Allenza, Ph.D., as director of the Biotechnology Research and Education Program, an initiative dedicated to the research, education and development of biotechnology products and processes for Maryland companies. Allenza graduated from Cornell University with a bachelor's degree in microbiology and attended the University of Massachusetts for his doctorate. Allenza was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Washington, Seattle. Nancy Glass, Ph.D.

WASHINGTON -- Last year, the Food and Drug Administration approved 22 new drugs for sale. So far this year, it has approved three. It's that dearth of new products to replace the many blockbuster drugs coming off patent protection that is driving major drugmakers to buy from smaller competitors what they have struggled to develop themselves. AstraZeneca PLC's deal to acquire Maryland's MedImmune Inc., developer of the FluMist nasal-spray vaccine, for $15.6 billion is the latest such effort.

MedImmune Inc.'s board of directors said yesterday that it will consider selling the state's flagship biotechnology company to what would likely be a non-Maryland pharmaceutical buyer after facing months of pressure from dissatisfied shareholders to pursue such a move. The announcement, which contrasts with a commitment to go it alone that the board made two months ago, sent the Gaithersburg-based company's stock soaring and raised questions from Maryland's business community. MedImmune, which has about 1,700 employees in the state, said it had received inquiries from potential buyers and will consider whether it makes sense to remain independent or to pursue a sale.

WASHINGTON -- Senior members of Congress from both parties are working feverishly on legislation that could give consumers access to lower-cost copies of biotechnology drugs that now cost tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. Prospects for the legislation have increased since Democrats took control of Congress this year. Consumer groups, employers and insurers are lobbying for the bill, which they see as a way to hold down health costs. The proposal faces formidable scientific and political obstacles.

With biotechnology considered one of Maryland's top future industries, O'Malley latched onto it during his campaign and pledged to strengthen the state's position - though how he plans to do that isn't clear. He has been a supporter of the city's two biotechnology business parks and has announced plans to create a "vaccine task force" that will offer advice on incentives and regulatory changes "needed to recruit vaccine-related businesses." He's used city funds to help pay for a study that assessed the region's ability to support and attract such facilities.

Selling subscription access to genetic information helped shares of Gene Logic Inc. open around $42 on June 26, 2000 - the same day a news conference was held at the White House to announce a completed draft of the human genome. Six years later, that business model also was responsible for a closing stock price of $1.30, after the company warned its earnings would be lower than expected. The Gaithersburg biotech is in the middle of learning a lesson many of its peers have already taken to heart: There's little interest in paying for genetic information, particularly when much of it is available free.

Maryland's professed goal of becoming the "vaccine manufacturing capital of the world" is hampered by the lack of communication among political leaders and a reluctance to offer aggressive incentives to draw major players, according to talking points prepared for a recent report that assessed the possibility. The report, which one official said cost about $250,000, was prepared from January through July and paid for by city and state agencies. It assessed the market demand for vaccine manufacturing, what a Maryland facility would look like, how it would be financed and "the regional big picture" needed to make the dream a reality.