This past August, Maryland Department of Commerce Secretary Kevin Anderson learned firsthand how the University of Maryland, Baltimore’s (UMB) efforts to accelerate biotechnology commercialization are transforming the economy of Baltimore and the region.
UMB is one of the state’s most powerful economic drivers, with an economic impact on Maryland of $3.2 billion last year. The University of Maryland BioPark, Baltimore’s biggest biotechnology cluster, plays a vital role in that impact as it fuels the commercialization of new drugs, treatments, and medical devices. Its nearly three dozen tenants — including industry leading global firms such as Pharmaron, Illumina, BD, and Catalent, next-gen ventures, university spinouts, distinguished research organizations, cutting-edge clinical care, and contemporary workforce training programs — employ more than 1,000 people.
(l-r) UMB President Bruce Jarrell, Maryland Department of Commerce Secretary Kevin Anderson, Maryland Department of Commerce Director of Life Sciences Ulyana Desiderio, UMB Provost and Executive Vice President Roger Ward, and UMB Chief Enterprise and Economic Development Officer and Senior Vice President James Hughes
Anderson spent an afternoon meeting with UMB President Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS, and Provost and Executive Vice President Roger J. Ward, EdD, JD, MSL, MPA, as well as representatives from the BioPark, the Center for Blood Oxygen Transport & Hemostasis (CBOTH) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM), and KaloCyte, a BioPark affiliate whose labs are housed at CBOTH.
During the visit, the secretary learned about the University’s role as a leading-edge research and workforce development institution and how BioPark tenants, in partnership with UMB, are contributing to the state’s economic success. He also was given an overview of the 4MLK expansion project at the BioPark, which will further Baltimore’s position as a growing biotech hub.
While speaking with Anderson, Jarrell emphasized UMB’s commitment to serving the city of Baltimore and the state of Maryland through its academic opportunities, research, and ability to drive the economy.
“At UMB, we seem to be born with a sense of urgency about our community — our West Baltimore community — because we understand what we do impacts the health of the city of Baltimore, but there’s an urgency to impact the wider area.” Jarrell said. “We have Baltimore in our name, and we obviously are focused on positively impacting Baltimore. But we also have Maryland in our name, and we’re committed to serving all of Maryland, including the Eastern Shore and underserved rural areas.”
James L. Hughes, MBA, UMB’s chief enterprise and economic development officer and senior vice president, provided the secretary with a history of the BioPark’s development, describing how it transformed blocks of abandoned buildings on the west side of campus into a thriving center for biotech startups and research.
He also noted that occupancy within the BioPark is at almost full capacity and said that nationwide demand for lab space is one factor propelling the development of 4MLK, which will bring even more jobs to the region.
Intended to serve as a gateway between the BioPark, UMB, and the University of Maryland Medical Center, 4MLK will advance the BioPark’s mission to bring together faculty researchers, entrepreneurs, leaders in the life sciences, and community-focused initiatives and programs to further human health innovation.
The eight-story, 250,000-square-foot building, Phase I of a two-phase project located at the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) Boulevard and West Baltimore Street, will provide critical wet laboratory space in downtown Baltimore for researchers and companies, flexible lab and office/support space for startups, and Class A office space, along with areas for convening and a conference center.
“The BioPark has been in high demand and fully leased for years, which is a good problem to have, but it does cap our economic impact. Our new development project, 4MLK, will bring much-needed wet lab space to downtown Baltimore, allowing more companies to locate on UMB’s campus and nearly doubling the number of jobs in the BioPark,” Hughes said. “The building will also provide new spaces and resources that support the growth of our startups and UMB’s faculty entrepreneurs.”
Anderson also toured CBOTH, which hosts BioPark affiliate KaloCyte, a pre-clinical stage health care biotech startup company that was co-founded by Allan Doctor, MD, professor of pediatrics at UMSOM and director of CBOTH.
KaloCyte is developing ErythroMer, a dried, bio-inspired artificial red blood cell intended to treat life-threatening blood loss when stored red blood cells are unavailable, undesirable, or in short supply. KaloCyte has partnered with CBOTH, licensing and developing the novel technologies emerging from CBOTH’s laboratories.
It recently was announced that CBOTH and KaloCyte will participate in a four-year, $46.4 million federally funded research project to develop and test a whole blood product, storable at room temperature. Doctor will lead the project, which is administered by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, in collaboration with more than a dozen universities and biotech companies.
“The support KaloCyte has received from UMB and the BioPark — through lab space, direct investment, grant collaboration, and connections to stakeholders and investors — has been critical to our development and growth,” said Elaine Haynes, MBA, president and chief executive officer of KaloCyte. “The Maryland ecosystem is rich with mechanisms to foster innovative companies like ours, so we were delighted to host the Department of Commerce team and show the secretary firsthand how we are putting their funding to work to develop lifesaving technologies.”
The secretary rounded out his visit to campus with a stop at 801 W. Baltimore St. in the BioPark, where he met with Jane M. Shaab, MBA, associate vice president for economic development at UMB and executive director of the BioPark. The pair discussed the BioPark’s spaces — which currently include two multi-tenant buildings, the state of Maryland’s Forensic Medical Center, the Maryland Proton Treatment Center, the BioInnovation Center, the UMB Community Engagement Center, and the Lion Brothers Building, a historic rehab office building — and its position as an economic driver for the region.
“Since UMB established the BioPark 20 years ago, it has played a critical role in growing Baltimore’s technology industry while driving economic investment and advancement in West Baltimore — a core part of the BioPark’s mission,” Shaab said. “In addition to bringing capital investment, companies, and jobs to the western arm of UMB’s campus, the BioPark delivers educational and training opportunities that bring together employers, job seekers, and training programs to develop a life science workforce.”
Anderson applauded the workforce and economic growth being driven by UMB, emphasizing the need to collaborate and advance those efforts in a way that raises the economic outlook for all parts of Maryland.
“This is very robust work UMB has done, so the question is, how do we build upon it in a way that brings equity to communities across the state?" Anderson said. "We all need to work together — from our educational institutions to our governmental institutions — so at the end of the day we have strong, equitable, thriving communities. We need to be strategic and smart, and we need all hands on deck.”