Montgomery County Moves Up in National Biopharma Rankings

For Immediate Release: Friday, October 12, 2018

Montgomery County is proving to be a premium address for the growing biotechnology sector. 

The BioHealth Capital Region, which includes Maryland, Virginia and Washington D.C., is ranked No. 4 on the 2018 list of top biopharma centers by Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN). The cluster moves up from a No. 5 ranking in 2017.

GEN ranks regions nationally based on several factors, including National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding, venture capital investment, patents, lab space and jobs in biotech. 

A majority of the BioHealth Capital Region’s assets are located within Montgomery County.

“This is great news that validates the strategic investments we have been making to grow the biotechnology cluster,” said County Executive Ike Leggett, “Our industry leaders set a goal to be a Top 3 biohealth hub by 2023, and we are well on our way.”

Montgomery County was the first in the country to offer a local biotechnology tax credit on top of the State of Maryland’s tax credits for investors. Earlier this year, the County also established the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) matching grant program. The goal of the matching grant program is to encourage small businesses that receive federal grants under SBIR and STTR grant programs to locate in Montgomery County. 

In 2012, BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI) was established based on the recommendations of the county executive-appointed Montgomery County Biosciences Task Force to support the transformation of the region’s research assets into new business opportunities and advance human health. In addition to founding and growing early-stage companies, BHI currently manages innovation centers in Rockville and Germantown and is the designated managing organization of the BioHealth Capital Region. BHI is also the co-founder of both the annual BioHealth Capital Region Forum held at the MedImmune/Astrazeneca campus in Gaithersburg and the first BioHealth Capital Region Investment Conference.

“BHI is proud of its accomplishments in growing the Montgomery County BioHealth ecosystem,” said Rich Bendis, BHI’s founder and CEO.  “It has become a go to location for scientists, entrepreneurs and established BioHealth companies to start and grow their businesses.”

For more information about the 2018 list of biopharma rankings, visit the GEN website.

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Release ID: 18-704
Media Contact: Sonya Burke 240-855-9813