| ANNAPOLIS, MD Tue, May 27, 2008 Governor Martin O’Malley, is leading a delegation of Maryland business people, State government officials and Jewish community leaders on an economic development mission to Israel this week. The delegation, arriving Tuesday, will focus on expanding the already substantial business ties between Maryland and Israel.
“I am excited to return to Israel as Maryland’s Governor and continue the great work that has already begun between Maryland and Israel,” said Governor O’Malley. “During the trip, we hope to build new relationships and successful partnerships between Maryland and Israeli companies, as well as explore new opportunities based on our shared strengths, which continue to be our technology and life sciences-based economies.”
Maryland, where the human genome was decoded, is often referred to as the biotech version of Silicon Valley, leading many Israeli biotech companies to have established significant presences in the state. Home to over 370 life sciences companies, Maryland also contains all of the major research and regulatory agencies in the US. These bodies include the FDA (Food and Drug Administration), the National Institutes of Health which is the largest life science research organization in the world, the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute of Standards and Technology and Johns Hopkins University, the US’ number one ranked research hospital and medical school.
The business, research and investment ties between Maryland and Israel are strong and continually expanding. A significant number of Maryland venture capital firms have invested in Israeli companies including local high tech and biotech players such as EMZA, Defensoft, Icaros, FiberZone Networks, ClassifEye, Innovea, eBIZmobility, LifeBond and Flexicath. In addition, Maryland exported over $44 million of goods and services to Israel in 2006, representing a 45% increase over the previous five years. Furthermore, Maryland-headquartered Lockheed Martin trades billions of dollars of goods with Israel.
Nearly 30 Israeli companies maintain offices in Maryland, including the US business development offices of Israel’s largest defense contractors, Rafael and Israel Military Industries (IMI). In addition, Teva now has a Maryland presence after its January 2008 acquisition of Rockville-based CoGenesys. Other Israeli companies in Maryland include Controp Precision Instruments, Verint Systems, Vuance, Compugen and Medispec.
During the week-long mission, Governor O’Malley will meet with a number of local businesses and is planning several economic development announcements. In addition, the Governor will deliver a speech at the prestigious Israel Biomed 2008 Conference in Tel Aviv.
Governor O’Malley is also scheduled to meet with a number of Israeli officials during the mission, including Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert; U.S. Ambassador Richard Jones; Binyamin Netanyahu, Chairman, Likud Party; Raleb Majadele, Israel’s Minister of Science, Culture & Sports; and Eli Yishay, Israel’s Minister of Industry, Trade & Labor.
Abba David Poliakoff, Chairman of the Maryland/Israel Development Center, a targeted trade and investment promotion organization, said, “Governor O’Malley’s trade mission to Israel sends a strong message to Israeli entrepreneurs and executives that Maryland is the premier destination for Israeli life science and high tech companies entering the US market. The Maryland/Israel Development Center is the one-stop-shop they need to find business opportunities in the huge American market.”
For more information, please contact:
Dani Wassner, 054-467-6961, dani@ruderfinn.co.il
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