Gov. Martin O'Malley is in Chicago today to receive an award from a Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) for his work in promoting the emerging industry in Maryland. The group noted the governor's biotech tax credits in choosing him.
Maryland is home to 500 bioscience companies and 50 research-intense federal institutes and centers, according to O'Malley aides, and the governor has made biotechnology growth one of his priorities.
The state has dedicated about $100 million in the past two years to BioMaryland initiatives. Another $70 million has been earmarked for science and technology related infrastructure at state universities and community colleges, O'Malley's aides say.
O'Malley has done "an exemplary job enhancing and expanding Maryland's stature as one of the nation's most vibrant biotech clusters," BIO President Jim Greenwood said in a statement released by O'Malley.
While at the national biotechnology conference in Chicago, O'Malley, who is among 400 Marylanders in attendance, will promote the state's biotechnology assets.