Hopes and Cures

Both Forbes and East Coast Blogging mentions that people can now apply for the $6 million in biotechnology tax credits in Maryland. They didn’t discuss how enthusiastic the Maryland Biotech community is over this new plan.

There is a lot of growing excitement over Governor O’Malley’s BIO 2020 Initiative. Today, the Baltimore Sun covered what lengths people are going to to make sure they are eligible for the tax credits:

Mark A. Vulcan - a tax attorney and CPA - had something of a rock star moment when he rolled into work at the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development’s Baltimore offices yesterday morning just before 8.

There, crowding in the lobby at 217 E. Redwood St., were more than a dozen slightly bedraggled biotech executives, some of whom had slept on the sidewalk, and all of whom wanted an audience with Vulcan.

At 9 a.m., he began accepting applications for a state tax credit program worth up to $250,000 apiece for eligible biotechnology business investors. So company representatives wanted to make sure their backers got a piece of the limited pie - distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.

The best quote: “Over the past couple of years, there have been some early birds, but they camped out last night like we were selling Hannah Montana tickets,” Vulcan said.

Looks like Maryland has quite a hit on its hands. Other states – what are you doing?

From the Baltimore Sun:

Biotech Tax Credit

What: A $6 million pool of tax credits available to those who invest in qualifying biotechnology companies. A minimum of $12,500 and a maximum of $250,000 are available.

Who: Qualified investors are those who invest at least $25,000 in a qualified Maryland biotech. Qualified biotechs have their headquarters in the state, have fewer than 50 employees and have been in business for less than 10 years generally.

When: Applications are accepted in July each year and take roughly 30 days to review.

Next: The competition should ramp up in coming years if Gov. Martin O’Malley’s plan to double, and eventually quadruple, the available credits is approved