Choose Maryland: Will this US State be the Next Silicon Valley?

In this interview Fintan Walton speaks with Lawrence Mahan, Senior Strategy Advisor for Biosciences for the state of Maryland, and Richard Zakour, Executive Director of MdBio, at the recent BioEurope conference in Madrid, Spain. Dr. Mahan shares the commitment of Maryland to grow the already brimming biotechnology industry in the state through its development of a Life Sciences Advisory Board to provide a long term strategy for the state, and its funding of the Maryland Venture Fund, now in its 14th year, which provides seed and early stage funding for fledging companies. Dr. Zakour tells how, in his role with MdBio, he works to raise the awareness of Maryland as a rewarding environment for companies looking for a base for U.S. operations, such as Qiagen who recently located their U.S. headquarters there. With the rich R&D resources of Johns Hopkins University, the University of Maryland system and the National Institute of Health (NIH), both men feel that Maryland is developing into an important biotechnology centre that will rival the major U.S. centres in California and Massachusetts.

The Guests

Lawrence C. Mahan, Ph.D., is the Senior Strategy Advisor for Biosciences for the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED). After training at the University of California, San Diego, he has spent most of his professional career as a chief scientific investigator with the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD, before joining DBED in 2001. As the head of the bioscience division of a state that enjoys a wealth of R&D resources from its federal and academic institutions, it is Dr. Mahan’s job to foster, promote, and further develop emerging bioscience companies and to encourage collaborations for those companies with interests in other U.S. states and abroad.

Richard A. Zakour, Ph.D., is the Executive Director of Tech Council Maryland/MdBio (TCM/MdBio). Before taking on this role, Dr. Zakour was the general manager for Fisher BioSciences, where he was responsible for a 300-employee unit that included both government and commercial business divisions providing pharmaceutical and biological support services. Prior to his time at Fisher, Zakour held various senior management positions with McKesson Clinical Services, DynCorp and Cambridge Biotech Corporation.

The Companies

Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED), Biosciences The Biosciences division of DBED works to foster an atmosphere of creative innovation in this state that boasts nearly 400 bioscience companies. Home to more than 50 life science research-intensive federal institutions, several world-class academic institutions, an ever-expanding number of private research facilities—and recipient of US$12.2 billion in federal R&D obligations—Maryland’s bioscience economy is driven by, and rooted in, an atmosphere that supports the entrepreneurial spirit. According to Entrepreneur magazine, the state of Maryland—through the Maryland Venture Fund and the Technology Development Corporation—was the most active early-stage investor in the U.S. in 2006.

The Tech Council of Maryland/MdBio (TCM/MdBio) is Maryland's largest technology trade association bringing its 500 plus members access to technology industry leaders in Maryland, DC and Virginia. TCM/MdBio helps the region's technology organizations grow through its membership and activities such as networking events, cost saving programs and advocacy initiatives. Its mission is to promote the technology industry and to create an environment where technology companies can collaborate, grow and succeed.