Maryland Awards Nearly $7 Million in Build Our Future Grants to Accelerate Biotech, Medtech, and Life Sciences Innovation
Key Insights
Maryland's Department of Commerce awarded 11 grants totaling nearly $7 million through the Build Our Future Grant Program to support innovation infrastructure across eligible technology sectors.
Notable life sciences awards include $750,000 to Blackbird Laboratories (search) for a CLIA Catalyst Facility and $1 million to Neurava for an AI-enabled wearable medical device lab focused on epilepsy (search).
Theradaptive received $464,978 to scale up GMP manufacturing of a synthetic bone filler (search), while CoapTech secured $477,750 for sterile medical device manufacturing facilities.
Governor Wes Moore announced that the Maryland Department of Commerce has awarded 11 grants totaling nearly $7 million through the Build Our Future Grant Program, a strategic initiative designed to fuel innovation infrastructure development across the state's key technology sectors. The awards, part of the Governor's Innovation Economy Infrastructure Act of 2023, provide grants of up to $2 million to private companies, nonprofit entities, local governments, and academic institutions working in fields including biotechnology, life sciences, artificial intelligence, and medical devices.
"Building a stronger, more competitive Maryland economy requires strategic investment in the businesses and industries that will drive growth in the coming years," said Gov. Moore. "Once again, we're deploying Build Our Future grants to support advances in clean energy, biotechnology, medtech, aerospace, robotics and more. This is an important part of how Maryland will win the decade."
Life Sciences and Medtech Awards
Several grant recipients are advancing projects with direct implications for pharmaceutical R&D and medical technology. Blackbird Laboratories (search) received $750,000 to support the creation of a Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) Catalyst Facility within the Blackbird BioHub, a 35,000-square-foot life sciences wet lab and incubator at the City Garage Science & Technology Center in Baltimore. The 3,000-square-foot facility, developed in partnership with EPOCH Epigenetics, will enable emerging diagnostic technologies to rapidly transition from concepts to clinical application under the supervision of a licensed CLIA laboratory director.
Neurava Inc. (search) was awarded $1,000,000 to establish a first-of-its-kind, 3,500-square-foot innovation lab in Maryland dedicated to the development, testing, and early-scale manufacturing of AI-enabled, soft wearable medical devices. The lab's initial focus will be on epilepsy (search) and sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (search) (SUDEP), representing a significant investment in neurological device innovation.
Theradaptive, Inc. (search) secured $464,978 to reshore and scale up a local manufacturing process enabling commercial-scale GMP production of a synthetic bone filler (search). The project encompasses designing and developing the manufacturing process, producing and analytically characterizing prototype lots at R&D-scale, and acquiring manufacturing equipment for commercial-scale GMP production in Frederick County.
CoapTech, Inc. (search) received $477,750 to establish a local hub for manufacturing sterilely packaged medical devices at its LaunchPort location at City Garage in Baltimore, including the establishment of clean room facilities with sterile thermoform equipment.
Additional Innovation Investments
Longeviti Neuro Solutions, Inc. (search) was awarded $332,430 to scale up its ClearFit AI platform, an Acoustic Brain Interface (ABI) designed to transform how the brain is imaged, monitored, and treated following neurological intervention. The funding supports investment in advanced systems, expanded manufacturing, and further development of AI infrastructure.
The University of Maryland, Baltimore received $1,000,000 to establish a center for operational medicine and defense health, delivering a 5,000-square-foot SCIF and developmental build purpose-built to modernize combat casualty care and accelerate the fielding of lifesaving technologies.
Economic Impact and Program Growth
Maryland Department of Commerce Secretary Harry Coker, Jr. emphasized the broader economic significance: "Maryland's capacity for innovation and support for bold, new ideas sets us apart from our peers and competitors. The new round of Build Our Future grants will not only support individual businesses and organizations, they will help move our entire economy forward."
Since the program's inception, 32 recipients have received nearly $23 million in Build Our Future grant funding. The combined three rounds — spanning 2024, 2025, and the current awards — support $75.5 million in private investment and an estimated 828 new jobs in Maryland. Five grant recipients are located in ENOUGH-eligible communities in Baltimore City, with projects receiving a total of $3.5 million in awards, aligning with Governor Moore's mission to fight child poverty and boost economic mobility. The recently passed DECADE Act of 2026 transitions the program to the Maryland Economic Development Corporation (MEDCO) beginning July 1.