O’Malley unveils $1.1 billion life science effort

State would boost funding on a host of programs, from stem cells to nanotechnology

All told, the program represents the largest per capita investment in the biosciences made by any state, according to information from O’Malley’s office.

‘‘The BIO 2020 Initiative is a comprehensive, targeted plan to leverage Maryland’s science and technology assets and nationally acclaimed workforce to attract and grow the bioscience opportunities of tomorrow in Maryland,” O’Malley said in a statement.

‘‘Maryland is already nicknamed the ‘home of the genome’ and now must work to strengthen our position as a national and world leader in the research and development of ‘personalized medicine,’ groundbreaking new science which holds within it the potential to reshape the landscape of 21st century medicine,” he said.

The program is based on early recommendations from the state’s new Life Sciences Advisory Board, which in the fall began work on a statewide strategic plan for biosciences. The board plans to issue a report this year.

‘‘It’s terrific,” said John Holaday, former CEO of Rockville biotech EntreMed and now managing director and CEO of QRxPharma, a pharmaceutical company based in Australia, of the governor’s funding commitment to help the state’s biotech industry.

Holaday, who is at the international biotechnology conference, BIO 2008, this week in San Diego, added, ‘‘We have had a lot of people bragging about our biotech, but other states [governments] have put more of an effort into helping their industry along. This will put us on par with other what other states are doing. Hopefully the amount of money that is spent will be used to help later-stage companies, as well as startups. That’s what we need more of in Maryland. ‘‘

O’Malley also plans to attend BIO 2008 later this week.

‘‘Governor O’Malley’s announcement is an expression of the bold vision he has for the future development of life sciences in Maryland,” said H. Thomas Watkins, president and CEO of Human Genome Sciences of Rockville and chairman of the Life Sciences Advisory Board.

Elements of the initiative include the following:

The new Maryland Biotechnology Center would be a ‘‘one-stop shop” to showcase and support biotechnology innovation and entrepreneurship in Maryland, and consolidate state, academic and private-sector ventures, O’Malley said. It would include the Maryland Technology Development Corp.’s tech-transfer initiatives, the state labor department’s regulatory functions and University of Maryland programs.

O’Malley wants to double the $6 million biotech investment tax credit in fiscal 2010 and again in 2013, which could leverage almost $50 in private investment.

The state’s Technology Incubator Network would receive $60 million over the next decade, leveraging $120 million in private and federal investments and growing the program by 50 percent. Maryland’s incubators total more than 453,000 square feet, create more than 14,000 jobs and provide $104 million in state and local taxes, O’Malley said.

Maryland’s Venture Fund, which provides challenge grants to startups and makes equity investments in more established companies, would grow by 2019 to investing $152 million, leveraging almost $2 billion in private equity, he said.

O’Malley also wants to continue spending at least $20 million a year on stem-cell research.

‘‘The governor’s continued support of stem cell research through the Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund has already had a substantial impact here at Johns Hopkins, leading to such breakthroughs as the generation of pluripotent stem cells from patients with sickle cell disease and from patients with brain disorders,” Dr. Stephen Desiderio, a professor of molecular biology and genetics and director of the Institute of Basic Biomedical Sciences and member of the Institute for Cell Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, said in a statement.