This summer in the Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News Annual Rankings of the “Top 10 U.S. Biopharma Clusters”, the BioHealth Capital Region (BHCR) moved up to #5. NIH funding, Venture Capital funding, Patents, Lab Space, and Jobs all are factored into the BHCR’s move into the Top-5.
“Area biopharma leaders have committed to growing their “BioHealth Capital Region” cluster into one of the nation’s top three by 2023, building on anchors ranging from the NIH and FDA, to the nation’s top academic recipient of research grant funding, the Johns Hopkins University. Hopkins accounts for 64.5% of the region’s NIH funding (556 awards totaling $271.4 million), placing fourth with 880 awards totaling nearly $420.7 million. The region is close to meeting its goal in patents (fourth with 4,108), but further back in employment (eighth with 39,145 jobs, according to JLL) and lab space (sixth with 9.5 million square feet).
Vaccine developers continue to grow: In May, Gaithersburg-based Emergent BioSciences opened an $80 million expanded medical countermeasures plant in East Baltimore, while GlaxoSmithKline announced a $139 million capacity expansion at its API plant in Rockville, MD, due to growing demand for its lupus erythematosus treatment Benlysta® (belimumab). The region finished sixth in VC funding last year ($146 million), but climbed to fourth during Q1 (seven awards totaling $71 million). Courting the industry eagerly are both Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) and Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R), a non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma survivor who calls the cluster-building effort a personal mission.”