Bioscience/Biotechnology
Industry Snapshot
Humans have been practicing "biotechnology" for thousands of years by selectively breeding
plants and animals for desirable hereditary traits, such as faster-maturing wheat. Modern biotechnology accelerates the process by using such high-tech tools as the computer to closely
study the genetic structure of organisms and in turn employing tools as the "gene gun" to introduce desirable genes in the DNA of organisms.
More than six out of ten workers nationally in the biotech industry have a Bachelor’s, Master’s, or Ph.D. degree—more than twice the proportion for all industries combined.
Nearly 47 percent of all jobs nationally are in large establishments employing more than
1,000 workers.
Earnings are much higher than those in other manufacturing industries.
This industry ranks among the fastest growing manufacturing industries.
Biotech work falls into six areas: Research and Development (R&D); Administration and
Regulation; Manufacturing and Field Work; Clinical Research; Sales and Marketing; and
Quality Control/Assurance.
Maryland Employment in the biotech industry.
(source: http://www.dllr.state.md.us/lmi/industryclusters/biotech.htm)
Biotech Clusters
Number of Jobs Number of Jobs Number of Jobs
2001
2002
2003
R&D in physical, engineering & life sciences
22,283
24,724
25,493
Pharmaceutical & medicine
manufacturing
4,947
5,157
5,253
Testing laboratories
2,001
2,222
2,218
Environmental consulting
services
1,708
1,845
2,142
Surgical appliance and supplies manufacturing
511
518
596
Analytical laboratory instrument & irradiation apparatus
manufacturing
546
567
546
Working for Frederick County....Connecting Business with People
Rev. 1 of 5—2006
Employment Outlook
The number of wage and salary jobs in pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing is expected to increase
by about 23 percent over the 2002-2012 period, compared with 16 percent for all industries combined.
Pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing ranks among the fastest growing manufacturing industries.
Demand for this industry’s products is expected to remain strong. Even during fluctuating economic conditions, there will be a market for over-the-counter and prescription drugs, including the diagnostics used in
hospitals, laboratories, and homes; the vaccines used routinely on infants and children; analgesics and other
symptom-easing drugs; and antibiotics and “miracle” drugs for life-threatening diseases.
Biotech employment, particularly in the areas of genomics, proteomics, and bioinformatics, can be found in
industry or academia. The success of your career may hinge on an ability to identify what the "next big
thing" will be; to predict which advances will get bogged down (like stem cell research, cloning, and genetically modified organisms); and to size up the social, intellectual, and financial capabilities of a given workplace to get the job done.
Smaller companies may offer more breadth than depth, especially for someone right out of school. Larger
companies provide an intense introduction to industrial research and other career options away from the
bench. Academia offers freedom and flexibility to do the research you want, whereas in industry, you won't
always choose the projects you work on. Academia has always been the safer path because it is not usually
tied to the economy, as industry is. Industry seems more lucrative than academia. Academia has a 'publishor-perish' mentality with no horizontal career development in place, whereas industrial scientists can move
into business development or other pathways tied to their Ph.D.’s.
The 2003 average annual wage in biotech in Frederick County was $51,428.
Training and Advancement
The biotech field requires a wide variety of people with a variety of educational and training backgrounds.
Currently, health is the largest sector in biotech, making the university-level courses in cell biology, immunology and genetic engineering the most relevant. The most successful people have tended to go on to graduate work, often Master’s degrees or Ph.D.’s.
The more education you have, the more opportunities open up to you in the future. Make learning a lifetime
commitment because biotech is a rapidly evolving field, and changing careers within an industry is a growing trend.
Working for Frederick County....Connecting Business with People
2 of 5—2006
Training and Advancement, Continued
For production occupations, manufacturers usually hire inexperienced workers and train them on the job; high
school graduates generally are preferred. Beginners in production jobs assist experienced workers and learn to
operate processing equipment. With experience, employees may advance to more skilled jobs in their departments.
Many companies encourage production workers to take courses related to their jobs at local schools and technical institutes or to enroll in correspondence courses. College courses in chemistry and related areas are particularly encouraged for highly skilled production workers who operate sophisticated equipment. Some companies reimburse workers for part, or all, of their tuition. Skilled production workers with leadership ability may
advance to supervisory positions.
For science technician jobs in this industry, most companies prefer to hire graduates of technical institutes or
junior colleges or those who have completed college courses in chemistry, biology, mathematics, or engineering. Some companies, however, require science technicians to hold a Bachelor’s degree in a biological or
chemical science. In many firms, newly hired workers begin as laboratory helpers or aides, performing routine
jobs such as cleaning and arranging bottles, test tubes, and other equipment.
The experience required for higher level technician jobs varies from company to company. Usually, employees
advance over a number of years from assistant technician, to technician, to senior technician, and then to technical associate, or supervisory technician.
For most scientific and engineering jobs, a Bachelor of Science degree is the minimum requirement. Scientists
involved in research and development usually have a Master’s or Doctoral degree. A Doctoral degree is generally the minimum requirement for medical scientists, and those who administer drug or gene therapy to patients in clinical trials must have a medical degree. Because biotechnology is not one discipline, but the interaction of several disciplines, the best preparation for work in biotechnology is training in a traditional biological science, such as genetics, molecular biology, biochemistry, virology, or biochemical engineering. Individuals with a scientific background and several years of industrial experience may eventually advance to managerial positions. Some companies offer training programs to help scientists and engineers keep abreast of new developments in their fields and to develop administrative skills. These programs may include meetings and seminars with consultants from various fields. Many companies encourage scientists and engineers to further their
education; some companies provide financial assistance or full reimbursement of expenses for this purpose.
Publication of scientific papers also is encouraged.
Pharmaceutical manufacturing companies prefer to hire college graduates, particularly those with strong scientific backgrounds. In addition to a four-year degree, most newly employed pharmaceutical sales representatives complete rigorous formal training programs revolving around their company’s product lines.
Local Industry Employers
According to Ernst & Young, Maryland ranks third in the nation in the number of biotechnology companies,
behind only California and Massachusetts.
Source: Ernst & Young, Beyond Borders: The Global Biotechnology Report 2002, data for 2001.
Working for Frederick County....Connecting Business with People
3 of 5—2006
Local Industry Employers, Continued
Of 356 bioscience companies in the state of Maryland, Frederick County is home for 37.
Advanced Product Enterprises, LLC
Frederick
888-496-8333
New Market
301-524-7867
Atlantic Biomass Coversions
Frederick
301-644-1396
Batelle Frederick Operations
Frederick
301-682-7406
Bio Assay Works, LLC
Ijamsville
301-874-8888
BioElectronics Corporation
Frederick
301-644-3906
Biological Mimetics, Inc.
Frederick
301-620-7565
BioStat Solutions
Mt. Airy
301-829-4001
Walkersville
301-898-7025
Frederick
301-696-8520
Middletown
301-371-5354
Charles River Laboratories
Frederick
301-663-1644
Clinical Research Management
Frederick
301-662-0153
Clinomics Biosciences, Inc.
Frederick
301-540-1820
DynPort Vaccine Company, LLC
Frederick
301-607-5000
EMINENT Services Corporation
Frederick
240-629-1972
Express Biotech International
Frederick
301-228-2444
Express Genomics
Frederick
301-695-3445
FiberCell Systems
Frederick
301-865-6374
Gempure
Frederick
301-432-5106
GeneChoice, Inc.
Frederick
301-620-7100
IMQuest Biosciences
Frederick
301-696-0274
Immuno Probe, Inc.
Frederick
301-695-7920
Intracel Holdings Corporation
Frederick
301-668-8400
Invitrogen
Frederick
301-610-8000
Kemp Biotechnologies, Inc.
Frederick
301-620-7100
Marligen Biosciences Inc.
Ijamsville
866-464-4990
Protiga, Inc.
Frederick
301-473-7717
Royer Biomedical, Inc.
Frederick
301-696-2177
SAIC Frederick, Inc.
Frederick
800-343-2732
SAIC Life Sciences Operation
Frederick
301-698-5991
Akonni Biosystems Inc.
Lonza Walkersville
Capricorn Pharma, Inc.
Cell Trends, Inc.
source: www.mdbio.org
Working for Frederick County....Connecting Business with People
4 of 5—2006
Southern Research Institute
Frederick
301-694-3232
SriSai Biopharmaceutical Solutions, LLC
Frederick
240-529-1673
SuperArray Bioscience Corporation
Frederick
301-682-9200
Syngene
Frederick
301-662-2863
Trans-Type Diagnostics
Frederick
301-695-7087
US Biomax, Inc.
Ijamsville
800-935-1357
Additional Resources
Frederick County Workforce Services
Located at the Business and Employment Center
5340 Spectrum Drive, Suite A
Frederick, MD 21703
301-600-2255
www.frederickworks.com
Frederick County Office of Economic Development
Located at the Business and Employment Center
www.discoverfrederickmd.com
Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing & Regulation
http://www.dllr.state.md.us/lmi/industryclusters/biotech.pdf
U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics
http://www.bls.gov/oco/cg/cgs009.htm
MdBio, Inc.
a private, non-profit corporation that offers a variety of programs to advance the commercial
development of bioscience in Maryland.
www.mdbio.org
National Bioscience Industry Skill Standards
http://www2.edc.org/bec/standards/industrystds.htm
Biotechnology Industry Organization
www.bio.org
Career One Stop
www.CareerOneStop.org
O*Net—Occupational Network
www.onetcenter.org
Working for Frederick County....Connecting Business with People
5 of 5—2006