The Week in Philadephia at BIO International

The leading bioscience companies in the world gathered this week with politicians, top researchers and scientists, government agencies, members of academia, CEOs, and the Frederick County Office of Economic Development for the 2015 BIO International Convention. It is the largest biotechnology convention in the world and each year, Frederick County has a spot among over 160,000 square feet with 1,700 exhibitors.

Partnering with the City of Frederick DED, Frederick County
is pictured with Maryland's DBED Deputy Secretary
Ben Wu on Day 2 of the convention

Our Frederick County team with
County Executive Jan Gardner

Frederick is well represented at this convention as part of one of the largest bioscience clusters in Maryland. One third of the job growth in Maryland during the last decade has been in the life sciences industry and Frederick County is home to more than 80 bioscience companies.

Last year, the convention reached 15,556 attendees from 16 countries and 50 states with nearly 2,500 CEOs in attendance. This year, over 15,000 attendees are expected to have visited Philadelphia for this event. BIO International allows Frederick County to not only meet companies as an exhibitor, but provides key networking events and educational programs that gives our department the opportunity to talk to companies one-on-one in a setting other than the traditional tradeshow style. OED's staff received many inquiries from potential prospects about doing business in Frederick this week and inquiries from companies interested in collaborating with Frederick County companies. OED also met up with our local bioscience companies in attendance and this opportunity allows us to forge stronger relationships with our growing bioscience community. Some of the Frederick County companies at BIO this year were:

Frederick County Executive Jan Gardner traveled to BIO to take part in the Maryland Leadership Breakfast hosted by the BioMaryland Center on Wednesday and while there, she had a chance to meet some attendees at the Frederick booth. BioMaryland is an office within the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development that supports the growth of the life sciences industry in Maryland. Their Maryland Leadership Breakfast had a record number of participants this year, another indicator that bioscience is thriving in Maryland.

Patrick Haley of BridgePath Scientific telling attendees
about BridgePath's services and products.

DBED's Deputy Secretary Ben Wu
at the BioMaryland Leadership Breakfast on Wednesday

Frederick County Business Development
Specialist Jodie Bollinger meets with attendees

Helen Propheter, Director of the Frederick County Office of Economic Development recapped her busy week by stating, "Frederick County and Maryland are leaders in the bioscience industry and this event allows us to make connections with leading scientists all over the world. My week in Philadelphia was packed full with making new connections, building stronger partnerships and learning fresh ideas that I look forward to bringing back to Frederick."