State ranks second in nationwide tech index

Study lauds Maryland’s ability to lure business

Milken researchers cited Maryland’s improvement in its ability to attract high-tech businesses and new projects that link research institutions with industry.

‘‘With strong partnerships between the public and private sectors and collaborative research with universities, federal and commercial partners, we have been able to create a strong technology industry in Maryland,” Gov. Martin O’Malley (D), who was among a significant contingent from Maryland to attend the annual biotech convention, said at a news conference June 19. ‘‘The results of the Milken Institute study are further evidence that Maryland is highly and increasingly competitive in drawing, retaining and growing technology-based businesses.”

O’Malley recently toured bioscience facilities in North Carolina, which ranked 18th in the Milken report but usually is higher than Maryland in biotech-specific studies.

The index by the Santa Monica, Calif., economic think tank assesses technology and science assets in the states, scoring them on aspects such as access to venture capital, research and development, and technology and science workforce.

Maryland leap-frogged California, which fell from second to fourth, and Colorado, which remained in third. California’s fall was largely due to an increasing difficulty in attracting top graduate-level students and federal research funds, Milken researchers said.

Representatives from Maryland companies such as Rockville biotech Human Genome Sciences, the Tech Council of Maryland, the state Department of Business and Economic Development — including Secretary David W. Edgerley — and Montgomery County’s economic development department were among those attending the convention this week. The conference is coordinated by the Washington, D.C., trade group Biotechnology Industry Organization and is regarded as one of the industry’s largest events, with some 20,000 people attending.

State Comptroller Peter Franchot (D) also attended the convention, as he advocated for the investment of state pension fund assets into Maryland’s life sciences industry.

‘‘I believe that a substantial commitment of pension fund resources to this dynamic and fast-growing sector is a sound investment in our future,” Franchot said in a statement. ‘‘Maryland’s biotech sector is poised to become even more globally pre-eminent, but we have to take the steps now, or 20 years from now our children will be leaving the state and Maryland will be paying the price for our inaction.”

Gaining exposure

The conference is an effective way for companies, particularly smaller ones, to gain exposure and make a lot of connections, said Steve Bende, president and CEO of Rockville early-stage biotech Bacilligen.

‘‘It’s worked out well for us,” said Bende, who gave a short presentation on his business during a forum June 19.

Among the key issues is streamlining the process with which the federal government approves new treatment drugs. Bende attended a forum involving several former Food and Drug Administration officials who spoke about the challenges in making changes at that agency.

‘‘There seems to be a little more buzz about the FDA approval process this year,” Bende said.

Other Maryland companies with representatives at forums included Rockville clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company Sequella and Rockville clinical-stage biopharmaceutical business CytImmune Sciences. John Holaday, former CEO of Rockville biotech EntreMed and now managing director and CEO of QRxPharma, a biopharmaceutical company based in Australia that has a Maryland office, was also a speaker. In addition, U.K. biotech Xceleron, which has its North American headquarters in Germantown, was represented.

The Tech Council of Maryland shared exhibit space with numerous biotech companies, including BioFactura of Rockville.

This report originally appeared in The Business Gazette.