Frederick County’s Fast-Growing Life Sciences Market: Jessica Fitzwater At Bisnow’s Mid-Atlantic Event

As the life sciences industry continues to thrive in the D.C. metro, Frederick County has been an integral part of this growth, with more than 130 companies calling the county home and new companies starting, growing or moving their facilities to the region.

Major firms like Thermo Fisher Scientific, AstraZeneca and Lonza have all opened up research and development or manufacturing space in the county. Frederick County has several economic incentives in place, such as the new jobs tax credits and an expedited permitting process. Combine this with a skilled workforce to help meet this industry's needs, and Frederick County is a great place to do biotech business.

“Frederick County is not only a huge part of the D.C. metro region’s expansion in life sciences, but we have the ideal infrastructure in place to help facilitate this growth as more companies want to do business in the county,” Frederick County Executive Jessica Fitzwater said. 

Fitzwater is speaking at Bisnow’s Mid-Atlantic Life Sciences and Biotech Summit on June 21, joining a variety of speakers from the D.C. metro area and beyond to talk about the growth of this sector in the region. Click here for more details on the event. 

Bisnow spoke with Fitzwater about why she is speaking at the event, her role as county executive of Frederick County and what she is doing to help life sciences continue to flourish throughout the D.C. region. 

Bisnow: Can you describe your role as county executive of Frederick County and some of the life sciences projects you’re involved with in the county? 

Fitzwater: As county executive, I am the CEO of the Frederick County government. We have a vision for Frederick County — a unique and vibrant community where people live, work and thrive while feeling a strong sense of place and belonging. Our life sciences industry is an integral part of that vision. I strive to connect businesses with our incredible county services and bring the right people to the table to find innovative solutions to support our business community. Some recent examples of life science projects in Frederick County include Kite’s expansion to a second facility, the Geneva Foundation’s expansion, and the doubling of lab and office space for Texcell. These bring more jobs to the county while expanding our vibrant life sciences ecosystem.

Bisnow: How is Frederick County involved with the expansion of life sciences and creating more economic opportunities for the industry? 

Fitzwater: I am grateful for all the companies that choose to do business in Frederick County. To show our support and appreciation, we work diligently to make sure they can continue to expand in our community. Knowing that time is money — especially in the bioscience sector — we have an entire team dedicated to expediting our processes and breaking down barriers to bring projects to fruition. Our staff is always looking for creative ways to support the life sciences sector. For instance, we created a Biotech Boot Camp and partnerships with Hood College and Kite to train students and employees for jobs the industry needs in the coming years.

As the home to Fort Detrick, the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research and other federal partners, Frederick County is uniquely situated to promote technology transfer opportunities to our businesses. Our partnership with Frederick Innovative Technology Center Inc., or FITCI, supports technology commercialization through their incubator and accelerator. Our Workforce Services staff works closely with our higher education institutions to highlight pathways to careers in the biotech space and trains future generations of workers.  

Bisnow: How are developers meeting construction and development challenges to keep up with the growing demand for life sciences in the D.C. metro area?

Fitzwater: Here in Frederick County, we have office, industrial and flexible spaces available. Our development community remains responsive to the needs of the bioscience industry by teeing up build-to-suit opportunities as well. Demand for space is reliant upon having a tenant, and Frederick County is recognized nationally for our fast-track permitting process, which delivers speed to market for tenants, a critical element for life sciences companies. Our staff is experienced in managing large life sciences projects throughout the entire development process. Ellume and Kite used our fast-track process to launch their operations in record time.

Bisnow: What are some economic incentives and talent opportunities to help attract and retain the life sciences talent in the D.C. metro area?

Fitzwater: With Frederick County having a skilled workforce and 42% of its residents holding a bachelor’s degree or higher, there are a variety of opportunities for growth. College students can take advantage of the partnership between Kite and Hood College, which provides an apprenticeship program to students. There is a biomedical research and training center being developed at Hood College to place biotech students at the forefront of innovations in science, technology and healthcare to prepare them to enter the competitive workforce immediately upon graduation. Our four-week Biotech Boot Camp continues to be a successful draw to help increase our workforce pipeline in life sciences. 

Bisnow: What inspired you to speak at Bisnow’s Mid-Atlantic Life Sciences and Biotech Summit?

Fitzwater: Frederick County’s thriving life sciences community numbers more than 130 life sciences firms, and the number continues to grow. The Frederick County Office of Economic Development offers tremendous support to new and established businesses in the life sciences industry. I was inspired to speak at Bisnow’s Mid-Atlantic Life Sciences and Biotech Summit because I know it will be a wonderful opportunity for us to share the business case for Frederick County with industry partners, spotlight the resources available in Frederick County and bring greater awareness to our life sciences ecosystem.

Bisnow: What are you most excited about experiencing at the event?

Fitzwater: I am excited to welcome people from all over the mid-Atlantic region who are focused on the biotechnology sector so they can see the great things happening here in Frederick County. We have a unique and vibrant community,  which includes growing our key industry sectors and continuing to create good jobs for our county’s residents. We offer a great quality of life, real estate assets, talent and resources available for any company looking to locate in the region. I’m anxious to have attendees see this firsthand.  

For more information about the event, click here for details. 

This article was produced in collaboration between Studio B and the Frederick County Office of Economic Development. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.

Studio B is Bisnow’s in-house content and design studio. To learn more about how Studio B can help your team, reach out to studio@bisnow.com.