Innovation Hotbed

There is a desire in the greater Washington DC area to move up to number three in the rankings of the nation’s great biotech hotbeds. As a bioscience business sector we should look at what we bring to the table to drive regional economic growth.  Dollars generated and aggregate job growth will gain more supporters across all sectors of business and government than any other yardstick.  From my vantage point, the bioscience sector core asset is innovation.  In fact, I embrace the concept that regionally our core asset is innovation across the aerospace, defense, energy, IT, cybersecurity and bioscience sectors.  The question then becomes how to capitalize on innovation?  Generally via patents being licensed into start-up companies.  A priori, start-up companies sound like small peanuts.  But it is NOT the case.  Small companies that make breakthrough innovations birth entire industries and millions of jobs. Even if the small co offers an  “incremental” advance there is a job multiplier effect when considering all the less skilled jobs that are necessary to support the innovator company.

My 3-steps to achieve innovation hotbed nirvana for our region: 

1)    Properly incentivize the Universities and Government Labs to open the floodgates and license out patents covering the innovations necessary to companies.

2)    Put an SBIR matching fund in place to complement federal investment at the MD state level.  There 14 states that have implemented such a program to great success of their start-up eco-systems.

3)    MD has the biotechnology investment incentive tax-credit at 50% of the investment.  This has been fabulous for both angel inventors and our start-ups.  We need a similar program to entice more VC level investing in our more advanced small cos.