Reeling them in - Baltimore Business Journal:

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Baltimore City and Baltimore County economicd leaders tried to retain the a spinoutof research. In the end, they just couldn't competr with the cheaper space and deep work force in biotech-rich Montgomery County. Amulet's relocation is more proofv that Montgomery County has capturing biotechnology companies down to a Bait the hookwith 585,00o0 square feet of low-cost laboratory spaced and about $650,000 in count y money for small loans and grants. Reel them in with the prospec of collaboratingwith 40,000 life - science workers and experienced biotech executives.
It's a strategy that has workedd with some ofthe state's fastest-growing biotechnologyu firms -- several of them born in Baltimore'w university research labs. And it threatens Baltimore'ss efforts to become a hot spot for To get a bigger pieceof Maryland'ws $29 billion biotech industry and fill two new bioparks, biotech leaders say the Baltimore area needsz to first figure out how to attract emerging companiesz -- and work together to lure firms -- whethet it be to the city or Several biotech executives interviewed for this story say they were caughtg in the middle of a rivalry between Baltimore County and Baltimorew City.
They say the area need to offer affordablelab space, bigge r financial incentives and an increased supply of for-profit companies comingb out of , Baltimore. "Baltimore needs to get some skin in the saidCraig Liddell, CEO of Amulet. Even the man responsibls for developing the biopark near says the area is learning how to playthe "We are building the plans as we fly it," said Scott Levitan, development directotr for the Forest City Science + Technology One of Baltimore's competitive disadvantageas is its lack of cheap existing laboratorg space. Chikujee Therapeutics, a Baltimore startup, wantedc to stay in the city.
It plans to commercialize new medicines developed by anotherrBaltimore biotech, Avanti Therapeutics. But staying in Baltimorde would have cost the companyaboug $30 per square foot at eithed of the city's newest bioparks. Becausr the space is it needs to be customized and thereforwcosts more. The company, at its early didn't qualify for state tax creditsd to help offsetthos costs. In Montgomery County, the companhy found finished lab space forabout $20 per squars foot and moved to Rockville in February.
The company has applier for a $100,000 loan from the "For a startup company that is trying torais money, these are big incentives," said Arkesh Mehta, CEO of "Montgomery County, at this is more mature than Baltimore." Real estate firms like working with life science companies in the Baltimore-Washingtojn region say the battle over cheaper space isn't one Baltimorr may win in the near With funding less available and venturwe capitalists and investors being more cautious with investments, many early-stages companies are opting for the less expensive said Henry Bernstein, senior vice presideng of Scheer.
It's a challenge Baltimore leaders and developere are workingto overcome. The UMB BioPark and the Sciencwe + Technology Park at Johns Hopkins havetapped $8 million in stated funds earmarked for the research bioparks for low-interest loan s to help new tenants customizer the space for their At the Science + Technologhy Park at Johns Hopkins, developers may reques a change in the state's tax credift program so companies don't have to hire 25 employeezs to be eligible. Developers also added short-term lab space at the new bioparkse to attract somestartup companies. At the UMB BioPark, a tenanft could pay about $2,300 a month for a smaller lab andoffics space.
Montgomery County is making cheaper lab space more attractive with state and locapl incentives and free businessdevelopmentg services. The county awarded loana and grants to 11 biotechnology companies from Marcjh 2007 throughMarch 2008, totaling $650,000, accordingy to the . "The small incentives are validationb of the local governmentthat 'We believe in you,' " said Bernadetted Musselwhite, a business development specialist with Montgomeryt County.