BioHub Maryland, established two years ago by the Maryland Tech Council to press home the state’s advantage in life sciences, has won a $75,000 grant from the Maryland Department of Labor to ease a talent shortage in biopharma manufacturing.
The Frederick-based hub said it would use the grant from Maryland’s Employment Advancement Right Now (EARN) program to train 15 participants — eight current life sciences workers and seven newcomers. The selected workers will be provided training at BioHub’s new Maryland Training & Education Center at Montgomery County due to open this fall.
‘New Career Pathways’
“The EARN Maryland program is about creating career pathways for Marylanders and growing our state’s economy,” said Maryland Secretary of Labor Portia Wu. “We are excited to partner with BioHub Maryland to train workers for critical roles in our state’s life sciences sector.”
The Maryland-Virginia-Washington DC Biohealth Capital Region is among the strongest such hubs in the country. In a recent national ranking of biopharma clusters by Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News, the region placed third. The region got $4.3 billion in NIH funds, attracted $2.9 billion from venture firms, and companies in the area own a whopping 73,315 patents, the publication said. With 35.9 million square feet of lab space, the biotech companies in the region offered 136,164 jobs.
Enhancing Competitive Edge
Maryland Tech Council CEO Kelly Schulz, a former state delegate and gubernatorial candidate, said the EARN funding would help the state consolidate its edge in biopharma.
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“The life sciences sector is a major driver of Maryland’s economy, with 54,000 workers in Maryland. With a national shortage of biopharma talent, we have a clear opportunity to enhance Maryland’s competitive edge by reskilling current employees and upskilling newcomers,” said Schulz, who took charge of the Maryland Tech Council in late 2022. Schulz has previously served as Maryland’s secretary of commerce and secretary of labor.
BioHub Maryland runs a state-of-the-art and multifunctional facility equipped with cutting-edge industrial bioprocessing equipment to train professionals. It uses biopharma curriculum developed by the National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training (NIBRT).
The selected trainees under the EARN funding program will receive hands-on experience in key bioprocessing areas, such as aseptic techniques and manufacturing recombinant proteins, vaccines, and cell and gene therapies, BioHub Maryland said. The program will also cover essential practices like good manufacturing practice and good documentation practice.
