This UMD Program is Providing Much Needed Biotechnology Industry Training to Meet Growing Demand

January 8, 2019

The BREP program at UMD provides much-needed biotechnology industry training workshops that support the growing demand for biomanufacturing and process development talent the BioHealth Capital Region and beyond.

With facilities in College Park and Rockville, Maryland, the Biotechnology Research and Education Program (BREP) at the University of Maryland offers a range of industry-oriented biotech training programs at GMP-like scale-up facilities.

BREP Training Workshop
BREP Training Workshop

Whether you are entirely new to the industry and trying to figure out how terms like process development, mammalian cell lines, and protein purification apply to what your company does, or you’re currently working in a GMP environment and looking for a way to grow your skills and knowledge to advance your career, BREP has programs for you. They will even customize training programs to meet the specific needs of companies that have to upskill and train their existing workers or new hires.

With more than 1,200 new biotechnology? jobs forecast for the region in the next year or more, BREP’s programs could play an important role. They can provide a solid jump-start to hires lacking experience in the bio-manufacturing and process development space. BREP training saves a company’s time and money by ensuring that their people, new hires and experienced alike, have the skills they need to be successful in a GMP environment. Their programs could also make hiring an otherwise qualified person who lacks a depths of skills in biomanufacturing less risky; that person can be brought up to speed by the team at BREP.

Who’s Hiring?

The region is seeing job growth everywhere, but these companies are all projecting to grow by the hundreds of new hires. It’s job growth like this that makes BREP’s program a critical component of the region’s workforce strategy.

Paragon BioServices
Autolus Therapeutics
Emergent BioSolutions
GSK BioPharm
• Kite Pharma
• RegenXbio
• Supernus Pharmaceuticals

Ben Woodard has been at with the program since 1997 First with the Bioprocess Scale-Up Facility (BSF), and now as director of BREP, his delivery of training has earned BREP recognition across the state. Regular course offerings include those in Fermentation, Downstream Processing, Cell Culture, and Analytical Sciences. A customized curriculum is available to companies with a specific need. In addition, as jobs become available in the biotechnology sector, basic courses are being considered. These would make it possible for companies to provide employees throughout the organization with a foundation in the principles and methods that drive the company’s growth.

BREP can also serve as the development arm of small companies, making it possible for these companies to serve larger clients without investing in space and personnel. Companies such as MedImmune, Paragon BioServices and Martek all took advantage of these solutions at their early stages.

BREP is part of the National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals (NIIMBL) initiative, a public-private partnership dedicated to advancing biopharmaceutical manufacturing innovation and workforce development. NIIMBL is one of 14 institutes in the Manufacturing USA network.

The original intention of BREP was for UMD to help Maryland companies scale up their products and processes. That mission has evolved to include workshops and customized training, as well as educating a biotech-ready student workforce. BREP’s work will be more important than ever as biotech manufacturing continues to grow with the BioHealth Region.

Upcoming Biotech Workshops

June 10-11, 2019:

June 12-14, 2019:

June 17-18, 2019:

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