Bioscience – what is it?
Bioscience is a new industry, just starting to show promise. The industry is made up of a diverse group of companies that apply knowledge of the way plants, animals and humans function. In Maryland, bioscience companies and supporting organizations use this definition: "a bioscience organization is biology-driven and its activity substantially involves research, development or manufacture of biologically active molecules; devices that employ or affect biological processes; biological information resources; or software designed specifically for biological applications.” The industry spans different markets and includes manufacturing, services, research, and healthcare activities. What does that mean? What do these companies do?

Greater Baltimore Region
Greater Baltimore is a strong opportunity market with a powerful base of institutions and scientists focused on research and discovery, according to a report on the regional biosciences industry released by the Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore.

"In addition to being a smart market with leading R&D universities like Johns Hopkins and the University of Maryland, Greater Baltimore is strategically located in the middle of the east coast biosciences cluster, yet it has business and living costs that are lower than neighboring regions," according to the report. "This puts Greater Baltimore ahead of similarly sized metros that are not located in the west or east coast bioscience corridors. "

"When compared to the California bioscience market, which extends from San Francisco to San Diego and is traditionally known for being the world’s bioscience epicenter, the Northeast corridor that extends from Washington DC to Boston covers less linear distance from end to end, yet possesses more biotech firms, employs more people in the biosciences, and has had about the same amount of total venture capital investment for biotech since 2002. Over 83% of all venture capital invested in biotech was in these two coastal corridors."

Other findings from the report include:

• Washington-Baltimore ranks 1st among top biosciences hubs for growth of venture capital for biotechnology in the past five years, ahead of Boston/New England (2nd) and New York (3rd);
• Washington-Baltimore ranks 1st for percentage of the population holding advanced degrees, Boston ranks 2nd and San Francisco/San Jose ranks 3rd;
• Washington-Baltimore ranks 3rd out of the country’s top cities for number of biotech firms and employment in research, testing, & medical labs, New York is 1st and LA is 2nd;
• Johns Hopkins University ranks 1st among all universities for NIH awards to institutions.
  

Where Does Maryland Fit In?
Each year Ernst and Young releases a global bioscience report. This year’s report, released on May 8, 2007 at the industry’s trade show in Boston, estimates that the global bioscience industry generates $73 billion in revenues annually. That number will jump to $100 billion in 2010. The industry is maturing. States, regions and countries are jockeying for leadership positions. Very few states, perhaps eight or nine, have the assets necessary to ensure success in this highly competitive industry.

Maryland is one of them. Rich in the two key elements needed to grow this specialized industry – a strong research capability and the ability to convert that research into commercial activity – the state also brings to the table a broad menu of other valuable attributes. Maryland is fertile ground for bioscience. The state has:

• More than 60 federal agencies and research labs including the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
• The Johns Hopkins University, the largest recipient of NIH research dollars and the University System of Maryland which draw $2,447,021,348 in sponsored research dollars annually
• 45,000 researchers and scientists making Maryland first in the nation in life sciences professionals per capita
• Three research parks in operation with a fourth quickly coming on line.

This powerful combination of intellectual capital, federal research dollars and a highly educated workforce has already positioned Maryland to be a leader in the industry. There are already roughly 25,000 people employed in the bioscience industry in the Baltimore / Washington / Northern Virginia corridor. Venture capitalists know Maryland’s bioscience industry and watch it. Approximately $1 billion has been invested in this region over the last four years. The region ranks third in the nation in the amount of National Institutes of Health funding that comes to our research institutions.

Maryland is one of the top five regions for the bioscience industry. Following is a quick look at the state of Maryland’s bioscience industry.

• The Maryland bioscience cluster generates 29,000 jobs in Maryland
• Each bioscience job has a direct-effect employment multiplier of 5.7 additional jobs related to each bioscience position raising the total number of jobs related to the industry in the state to 87,000
• Average annual income in the life science sector in Maryland is $62,000 compared to the overall non-governmental State average of $33,000 per year
• The rate of increase in bioscience worker wages has averaged 6.4% annually since 2001 vs. 1.4% annually for private sector workers
• Nationally bioscience jobs have increased 1% since 2001 while overall total US jobs have decreased by 0.7%.

The future growth of the bioscience industry is assured nationally and internationally. The opportunity for Maryland and the region can and should be limitless.