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Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett, returned recently from a 10-day business development mission to Korea and China, called the trip a success. A delegation of nearly 20 county business owners and executives, as well as county and state economic development staff, joined him on the trip.

“During these times of economic uncertainty, Montgomery County must work even harder to assist our local companies in maintaining and expanding their global reach and success,” said Leggett. “We must also work harder to ensure we retain and help grow our existing business base amid the growing global competition.”

The trip was the first made in China. The county led its first business development mission to Korea in 2002.

Dr. Kazem Kazempour, President and CEO, Amarex Clinical Research said the mission “helped us establish beneficial contacts with key Korean agencies that will benefit Amarex.” Lisa Chan, EVP for Business Development, ZaraCom Technologies Inc. stressed the trip allowed “us to take greater advantage of the county’ overseas links.”

Remarked Jack Hollerbach, President and CEO of HarVest Bank of Maryland. “The reputation of Montgomery County as a center of innovation and business energy was apparent as we were greeted with ceremony and respect by government and business leaders across China and Korea.”

The mission helped “both in terms of introducing potential China businesses that will establish offices in the US to the county, and to delegation members doing business or planning to do business in China,” according to Juanita Boyd Hardy, Managing Principal, Tiger Management Consulting Group, LLC.

$2-million investment

Dr. Woo-Taik Chung, governor of Chungbuk, pledged $2 million in investment support for the incubator facility to be built as part of the county’s development of Site II, along Route 29 in eastern Montgomery County, into a major, new science and technology park.

Chungbuk plans to be a leading biotechnology hub in Asia. With an infusion of $3.5 billion from the central government, Chungbuk is constructing Korea’s first biotechnology cluster in Osong, known as Osong Biotechnopolis. This cluster will be home to Korea’s top regulatory agencies such as the Korean-FDA and the Korean-CDC. Korea’s bio/pharmaceutical giants such as CJ Corporation and LG Life Science have pledged to relocate to the Osong Biotechnopolis.

Leggett signed a memorandum of understanding with the president of the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI) on exchanging scientific and business information, conducting educational seminars for businesses on regulatory compliance issues and related topics, and promoting business exchange

The county held a seminar on technology transfer and regulatory compliance in partnership with the KHIDI. Speakers included Claire Driscoll of NIH, Dr. Chang Ahn of Rexahn Pharmaceuticals and Kazempour of Amarex. Some 130 Korean biopharmaceutical companies attended the seminar.

The delegation toured RNL Bio's lab in Seoul; RNL Bio’s U.S. subsidiary, RNL Biostar, is a tenant of the Maryland Technology Development Center; RNL Bio expressed interest in building a GMP manufacturing facility in the county.

Leggett led a presentation on the biotechnology assets of Montgomery County during Bio Korea 2008. He also met with several large biopharmaceutical companies such as SK Chemicals and Green Cross, Corporation.

The six-day China visit included stops in Shanghai, Suzhou and Beijing. The delegation met with several key Chinese bio/pharma companies seeking a presence in the U.S., and visited and promoted several Montgomery County businesses operating in China, including Marriott, Discovery, United States Pharmacopeias and Sirnaomics.

The Department also facilitated several high level public and private sector meetings with Chinese entities for selected members of the delegation.

The delegation to Korea included the following Montgomery County businesses: Amarex Clinical Research (Korea); Maryland Department of Business & Economic Development (Korea); NIH/NHGRI - Office of Tech Transfer (Korea); TissueGene, Inc. RNL Biostar, Inc.; Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Teras & Wilde, PLLC; Keller Williams Realty; Law Office of Mark A. Smith, LLC; and Rafagen, Inc and Harvest Bank of Maryland (China & Korea).

The delegation to China included Tiger Management LLC; Zaracom Technologies, Inc.; K & Y American Investment Properties; United States Pharmacopeias/Shanghai; Sirnaomics, Inc.; Law Offices of Yu & Associates; Marriott/Beijing and Qiagen/Shanghai.