The Maryland Tech Council has more than doubled its funding so far this year for life sciences workforce development — this time, with a focus on cancer research and treatment.
The trade association said Tuesday it has locked in $2.5 million in new capital for BioHub Maryland, which aims to build up the state’s life sciences workforce by providing students, jobseekers and employers a platform for job listings, career resources and information, and networking opportunities. The group plans to use the funding to identify workforce gaps in Maryland and “generate stronger local demand for life science careers, especially among those who do not have advanced degrees,” according to the Tech Council, led by CEO Marty Rosendale.
The fresh infusion comes with a cancer focus, as part of Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan’s new Maryland Cancer Moonshot Initiative, supported by the Maryland General Assembly in the fiscal 2023 budget. It builds on top of $2.45 million the Maryland Tech Council secured for BioHub Maryland in March from the federal government's omnibus budget bill for fiscal 2022.
Maryland’s moonshot, which launched a couple months after President Joe Biden revived his national moonshot, aims “to dramatically accelerate all of our efforts to detect, prevent, treat and find a cure for cancer, so that more lives can be saved,” said Hogan, a cancer survivor himself, in a March 30 statement when the initiative was announced. “This is a watershed moment in the fight against cancer in our state and the region.”
A total $216 million commitment will support multiple projects in addition to BioHub Maryland. That list also includes $67 million for the new cancer center coming to University of Maryland Capital Region Medical Center in Prince George’s County.
The Tech Council’s previous $2.45 million in federal funding also aimed to increase access to international funding, easing tech transfer, supporting workforce development and increasing access to flexible lab space for life sciences startups.
It’s all part of a longtime effort by Maryland leaders to compete with the likes of the Bay Area and Boston as a hub for the country’s biotech and life sciences players — work that continues as competition grows. Montgomery County recently eased and accelerated its zoning requirements for new or expanded lab spaces, even as the Montgomery County Council voted to create an incentive program to fund and attract more companies to the county’s opportunity zones, which are areas developers are incentivized to prioritize to generate more economic activity.
Still, Maryland is seeing ongoing momentum sparked by the Covid-19 crisis, which accelerated funding for manufacturing, research and development for vaccines, therapies and testing. More than a handful of local companies have taken and run with that support, which totaled $8 billion in funding from government, private sector investors and foundations in 2020 alone.
All in, Maryland’s resident companies include more than 2,700 in life sciences, 500 in biotech, 12,000 in technology and 1,200 in cybersecurity, the Tech Council reports. And the state ranks No. 2 for its concentration of jobs in science, technology, engineering and math areas, though different surveys have also ranked the other regions higher, depending on the metric.
