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Maryland has won the battle over BioPort.
After scouting sites throughout the region and in Michigan for a large chunk of manufacturing space, anthrax vaccine maker BioPort has settled on Frederick for its 200,000-square-foot facility.
"It's a significant milestone," says Aris Melissaratos, the state's economic development chief, who has made going after biotech manufacturing jobs a top priority. "We're delighted that BioPort will grow in Maryland."
Melissaratos says Maryland offered incentives to win BioPort's manufacturing operations. The deal isn't yet final, however, so he wouldn't comment further. BioPort officials say working with Maryland officials has been a positive experience.
"Frederick is located in an area where it will be easy for us to attract the caliber of talent we need," says Bob Kramer, president and CEO of BioPort. "It's clearly an area that's committed to biotech and biodefense."
Once it settles in, BioPort will join Gaithersburg-based biotech giant MedImmune (www.medimmune.com) as companies with a huge manufacturing presence in Frederick. State economic development officials say Frederick has the opportunity to become a strong center of biopharmaceutical manufacturing.
"It's great for Frederick," Melissaratos...