BIOSCIENCE CALLED ONE OF STATE'S "SUCCESS STORIES";
FROM HARDLY NO PRESENCE TO A NATIONAL LEADER

William Patalon, III

06/09/ 2004

The Baltimore Sun

Pg. 1C

Maryland's bioscience sector—which has set records for growth since its inception—continues to perform well as the state carves out important strengths, said a lead researcher on a new study that looks at the nation's biotechnology industry.

"It's one of the few real success stories," said Walter H. Plosila, vice president of the Technology Partners Practice for Battelle, a Columbus, Ohio, nonprofit group that fosters technology innovation worldwide. Battelle has a research facility in Harford County.

Battelle studied the biotechnology industry state by state on behalf of the Biotechnology Industry Organization, a Washington-based trade group. Released this week, the study looks at such measures as employment levels, public and private programs, and development projects such as biotech parks.

Maryland, whose biotech initiatives have drawn fire recently, fares extremely well, Plosila said. Less than 15 years ago, Maryland essentially had no bioscience industry. It is now among the leaders, a pace of growth that has been equaled only by California's San Diego region, Plosila said.

Maryland's chief strength, research and testing, is a good one to have because it encompasses not only such straightforward endeavors as food and drug testing, but also nurtures development of the leading-edge firms, Plosila and Battelle said.

For years, state officials have been marketing Maryland's concentration of biotechnology companies, research universities such as the University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins, public incentive programs and planned biotech parks, noting studies that say the state trails only California and Massachusetts.

A decline to fourth

In the most recent annual industry survey by accounting firm Ernst & Young, Maryland's rank dropped to fourth—North Carolina passed it—in the number of biotechnology companies, upsetting political leaders and provoking warnings that the state's momentum was flagging.

The Battelle study presented the same potential for angst if not viewed in the correct context, Plosila and others said.

For instance, Maryland was ranked fifth in total research and development expenditures and fifth in support to institutions by the National Institutes of Health, potentially troublesome because the state has long highlighted its universities and proximity to federal laboratories as key strengths.

And, although Maryland ranked fourth in the number of advanced degrees in biological sciences, it came in a distant 11th in terms of the average number of biological scientists in its work force during fiscal years 2000-2002, according to the study.

Maryland economist Anirban Basu said major problems are inherent in attempting to rank the states in terms of their bioscience strengths.

"People tend to compare a Maryland apple with a New Jersey orange or a North Carolina pine," said Basu, chairman and chief executive of Sage Policy Group Inc., a Baltimore consulting firm.

In addition, there is no way to tell how efficiently research and development money is used.

One important strength

And Plosila and Basu noted that there's a tendency to look at the biotech industry as one, amorphous entity and not separate out the individual strengths, such as the one Maryland has in the research and testing sector.

Biotech benchmarks

Here's how Maryland ranked nationally for several benchmarks measured by Battelle Memorial Institute:

5th: University R&D expenditures

5th: National Institutes of Health financing

4th: Advanced degrees in biological sciences (2002)

11th: Biotech scientists in work force