April 20th, 2018 by WCBC Radio

Governor Larry Hogan today joined Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen, representatives from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and hundreds of business and education leaders, and venture capitalists for the 2018 Maryland Technology Transfer Summit. Hosted by the Maryland Department of Commerce and the Maryland Life Sciences Advisory Board in partnership with NIST, the summit brings together Maryland’s thought leaders to develop a joint vision and action plan for advancing the commercialization of technology in the state’s federal and university labs.

“We are incredibly proud that Maryland is home to world-class universities and federal laboratories, as well as private companies, that are hard at work advancing technology from the spark of an idea all the way to the marketplace,” said Governor Hogan. “We must continue to cultivate Maryland’s talented workforce and strengthen our federal and university partnerships so that Maryland can reach its full potential in the innovation economy.”

“This summit brings together leaders from federal and state government, academia, technology, and business to support a shared mission: improve the transfer of innovative technologies from Maryland’s universities and research labs to the marketplace,” said Senator Cardin, the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship. “With our highly-educated workforce, proximity to Washington, D.C., and the world’s leading universities and laboratories, Maryland is uniquely positioned to move innovations from startups and small businesses to commercialization and, in turn, create jobs and economic activity in our dynamic biotech, technology, and life science communities.”

“Maryland’s universities, federal labs, and innovative businesses produce cutting edge research – and we’re doing everything we can to support the pipeline between that research and creating new jobs,” said Senator Van Hollen. “Strengthening the lines of communication and planning among all the stakeholders is central to this effort. I will continue working in Congress to make sure Maryland has the resources we need to invest in new discoveries and encourage Federal agencies to work with Maryland businesses to ensure that the full benefit of this research can reach American consumers.”

The summit kicked off with remarks from Dr. Walter Copan, Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and NIST Director, and Maryland Commerce Secretary Mike Gill. Senators Cardin and Van Hollen participated in a panel discussion on how Maryland can best collaborate with federal agencies to advance commercialization in labs and academic institutions, followed by the keynote address by Governor Hogan. The event also included panel discussions with representatives from a number of federal agencies and TEDCO, as well as Maryland colleges and universities. Rip Ballou, vice president and head of global vaccines for GSK, gave the afternoon keynote address.

“This summit demonstrates the tremendous potential of Maryland’s research and technology capacity to deliver powerful economic impact,” said Under Secretary Copan. “The participants in this great innovation ecosystem demonstrate genuine commitment to leverage the network of federal, state, local and business community efforts to foster entrepreneurship and continue to grow our global leadership in high technology products, manufacturing and services.”

Maryland continues to rank among the top states for technology and research and development. In addition to being home to 74 federal laboratories, more than twice as many as any other state, Maryland ranks first in Natio​nal Institutes of Health research and development contract awards with $611 million and third in federal government R&D spending at universities and colleges with $2.96 billion. In addition, Maryland is among the top ten “Innovation Champions,” according to the Consumer Technology Association's 2017 Innovation Scorecard. The ranking is based on criteria that include sensible tax structures and policies allowing cutting-edge technologies and new business models to flourish, all of which creates high-quality jobs and healthy economic growth.