As you may know, the Montgomery County Department of Economic Development (MCDED) led the County’s participation at the 2012 BIO International Convention held June 18-21 in Boston, MA.
Our team of business development professionals participated in dozens of business partnering forum meetings with national and international biotech companies during the course of the Convention. On June 19, MCDED held a press conference from the floor of the BIOMaryland Pavilion, kicked off by Human Genome Sciences CEO and Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) Board Chairman Tom Watkins and Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett. The press conference highlighted the success of the County’s biotech investment incentive program – the nation’s ONLY such local program which helped spur more than $6 million in investments to 10 County-based biotech companies in 2011 – and the creation of the County-inspired, regional biotech intermediary BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI). BHI is chaired by Scott Carmer, Executive Vice President, Commercial Operations, MedImmune and sponsored by Human Genome Sciences and several other local private-sector companies and academic institutions. The press conference also featured a panel, moderated by MedImmune CEO Peter Greenleaf, of County-based, serial biotech entrepreneurs discussing why and how they started companies in Montgomery County.
MedImmune CEO Peter Greenleaf (standing, purple shirt) and bio entrepreneur panelists
(seated, shown l-to-r: Mark Rampey, CEO, CohBar, Inc.; Peter Kiener, President & CEO, Zyngenia;
and John Trizzino, CEO, ImmunoVaccine) field questions during June 19 press event.
Scott Carmer, Executive Vice President, Commercial Operations, MedImmune
and BHI Board Chair explains MedImmune’s role in BHI and the importance of this
new, industry-led biotech intermediary. He is joined by Montgomery County
Executive Isiah Leggett,who announced thesuccesses of the County’s local
biotech investment incentive program earlier in the press conference.
MCDED Director Steve Silverman chats with HGS CEO & BIO
Board Chair Tom Watkins after the June 19 press event.
MCDED Director Steve Silverman & Ken Carter, President and CEO, NexImmune
and Board Chairman, Noble Life Sciences, discuss Montgomery County’s
key biotech sector advantages and successes during the June 20
BIO Buzz Center interview at BIO International Convention (click picture to see interview).
Steve Silverman,
Director