ROCKVILLE, Md. and FREDERICK, Md., Feb. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- The Tech Council of Maryland, Inc. (TCM) and MdBio, Inc. announced today that they are merging to form a new trade association which will support both life science and advanced technology businesses throughout Maryland with advocacy, networking opportunities and educational initiatives.
"This helps to unify the technology community across the state of Maryland," said John Nyland, Chairman of TCM and Managing Partner, IBM Public Sector Consulting Services, "and it demonstrates the commitment of the Maryland technology community to collaborate on issues of interest to both information technology and biotechnology/life sciences companies."
"The biotechnology members of TCM have always seen the benefit of aligning with other high technology businesses," said Ed Rudnic, Vice Chairman of TCM and Chairman of TCM's new MdBio division as well as President and Chief Executive Officer of Advancis Pharmaceutical Corp in Germantown. "As technology advances, the boundaries between different disciplines of technology are blurring -- such as what we are seeing with the use of nanotechnology and information technologies in healthcare delivery. It's a logical technology progression, and it makes perfect sense to mirror that convergence by combining TCM and MdBio."
"MdBio, Inc.'s primary objective in combining with TCM is to unify, empower, and advance Maryland's biotechnology community," said Jim Leslie, outgoing Chair of MdBio, Inc., and Senior Vice President of Kincannon & Reed. "We believe this integrated approach is the right answer for the biotechnology and advanced technology communities in Maryland." "We will actively solicit input from biotechnology companies throughout the state, asking what they would like to see from their new membership association. This will enable us to refine and further develop our portfolio of programs and services to ensure the long-term growth of our industry," said Bob Eaton, who will serve as President of the new MdBio organization (a division of TCM) and President of the renamed MdBio Foundation.
The combined organization will be called the Tech Council of Maryland, with members belonging to the advanced technology division, the Tech Alliance, or the biotechnology division, MdBio, or in some cases, both divisions. All members will be welcome at the networking and educational events of both divisions. TCM members will also benefit from having stronger voices for advocacy at the state and national levels. Julie Coons, current President of TCM, will be appointed CEO of TCM and member of both the Tech Alliance and MdBio boards of directors.
Note to Editors: Please See Accompanying Fact Sheet.
About the Tech Council of Maryland:
The Tech Council of Maryland's mission is to serve its members as the preeminent technology networking association where executives discuss ideas, innovate and solve technology issues that advance the interests of technology companies in Maryland. TCM members are from industry, government, academia and the service provider industry and provide an environment where technology companies meet, learn and collaborate and to be Maryland's best technology networking organization. TCM has more than 600 member companies representing more than 200,000 forward thinkers throughout the state. For more information, please visit http://www.mdhitech.org. TCM is supported in part by a grant from Maryland's Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED).
About MdBio
MdBio, Inc. seeks to unify, empower and advance Maryland's biotechnology industry, providing comprehensive support services to the biotechnology community in Maryland. Areas of emphasis include corporate and business development, networking and community building, education and workforce development and communications. The organization works to catalyze industry growth, commercial development and global recognition of bioscience in Maryland. For more information, please visit http://www.mdbio.org.
FACT SHEET To Accompany TCM/MdBio Merger Joint Press Release
This Fact Sheet contains additional information in support of the Tech Council of Maryland (TCM) and MdBio joint press release dated February 7, 2006.
Organization Structure: 1. Effective immediately, a new trade association has been formed which will be known as the Tech Council of Maryland. TCM will have multiple membership categories including: * Biotechnology members * Advanced technology members * Associate, Education, and Government Members, such as service professionals, academic institutions, federal laboratories and others 2. TCM will operate primarily through two divisions serving the advanced technology and biotechnology communities. The biotechnology division will operate under and be known to the public as MdBio. The advanced technology division will operate under and be known to the public as the Tech Alliance. MdBio and the Tech Alliance will each be governed by divisional Boards of Directors, composed of leading CEOs and other industry executives. 3. TCM's current Board of Directors and Executive Committee will be expanded to include new directors from the MdBio board. 4. John Nyland, current Chairman of TCM and Managing Partner, IBM Public Sector Consulting Services, will continue as Chairman of TCM. 5. Ed Rudnic, current Vice Chairman of TCM and President and Chief Executive Officer of Advancis Pharmaceutical Corp., will remain as Vice Chairman of TCM and will become Chairman of MdBio. He will be assisted by Steve Trevisan, President & CEO of Accelovance, who will become Vice Chair of MdBio. 6. Chuck Sharrocks, current Vice Chairman of TCM and Senior Vice President of Client Network Services, Inc. will assume the Chairmanship of the Tech Alliance. 7. Julie Coons will serve as CEO of TCM. She also will serve on the boards of the Tech Alliance and MdBio. 8. Bob Eaton will serve as President of the MdBio division and will report to the MdBio divisional board. He also will serve as President of the renamed MdBio Foundation. 9. The combined staff of the two organizations is 16. TCM currently has ten staff members while MdBio has six. 10. The new TCM will be supported by several foundations, including what is expected to be named the MdBio Foundation and the Tech Council of Maryland Foundation. The MDBio Foundation will continue to pursue its charitable purposes, with the other foundations supporting their respective purposes.
Tech Council of Maryland, Inc.; MdBio, Inc.CONTACT: For TCM: Ellie Whims of Robin Jones Consulting, +1-301-696-0318,ewhims@robinjonesconsulting.com; or For MdBio: Rabab Pettitt of BrightlineMedia, +1-703-739-2424, x108, rabab@brightlinemedia.com
