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Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission tells committee $13M in grants helped attract roughly $1B in private follow‑on funding

Economic Matters Committee · February 4, 2026

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Summary

Rachel Brewster told the committee the Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission (MSCRF), administered by TEDCO, has invested about $13 million in research grants that the commission estimates leveraged more than $1 billion in private funding and supported dozens of disease‑focused projects. The commission's budget is roughly $15 million.

Rachel Brewster, chair of the Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission, told the Economic Matters Committee that the commission was established in 2006 under the Stem Cell Research Act to fund university research and move discoveries closer to patients. "Our primary goal is to improve health through stem cell research and through discoveries that are made, for the most part in universities in the Maryland area," she said.

Brewster presented program metrics: she said MSCRF has provided over $200,000,000 to researchers and companies in Maryland across multiple programs, and cited the commission’s targeted fund activity, including research grants and manufacturing support aligned with the governor’s priorities. Brewster said MSCRF has invested about $13,000,000 in companies that have gone on to attract more than $1,000,000,000 in private follow‑on funding, which she characterized as an approximately 17‑fold private leverage on the grant dollars.

Brewster highlighted company examples supported by MSCRF: Theradaptive, which is conducting a clinical trial for a product that promotes bone growth and is pursuing additional clinical work, and RoosterBio, which grew from four employees to 57 and expanded its production footprint. Brewster also showed examples of disease indications supported by the fund, including rare immune disorders and sickle cell disease, and described individual patient outcomes tied to funded research.

Brewster and TEDCO staff told lawmakers the commission operates on an approximately $15,000,000 budget, and they framed MSCRF as a relatively rare state stem‑cell fund compared with larger programs elsewhere.