The latest rankings from Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News  (or GEN) included some long-awaited good news for Maryland: the Biohealth Capital Region (BHCR) had moved up to No. 3 on the publication’s list of the top ten biopharma clusters in the United States.

Leaders in Maryland’s biohealth industry have been working to make the BHCR a “Top 3 by 2023” since back in 2016. In recent years, the region (comprising Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C.) has ranked No. 4.

“It’s been an incredible journey working with so many dedicated individuals and organizations in the region over the years to meet this goal,” Rich Bendis, president and CEO of BioHealth Innovation, Inc., said in a statement . “The spirit of collaboration and innovation that defines the BioHealth Capital Region has been the driving force behind this success, and I’m proud to be part of this remarkable community.”

Source: Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News

GEN’s rankings consider five criteria: funding from the National Institutes of Health, venture capital funding, the number of patents issued, amount of lab space, and the overall number of jobs. The BHCR boasts $4.245 billion in NIH funding; $12.16 billion in VC funding; 52,899 patents; 31.69 million square-feet of lab space, and 128,886 jobs.

Last year, GEN ranked the BCHR No. 4, with $2.536 billion in NIH funding, $2.384 billion in VC funding, 6,401 patents, 35.5 million square feet of lab space, and 117,378 jobs.

This year, BioHealth Capital Region ranked behind Boston/Cambridge (No. 2) and the San Francisco Bay Area (No. 1), each of which has more square feet of available lab space and more venture capital funding. But BHCR boasts more patents than any other biopharma cluster in the country, which helped move the region higher in this year’s rankings, according to GEN.

GEN also noted Johns Hopkins University’s plans to develop new lab space at its Rockville campus and expansion of companies such as MilliporeSigma and Kite in Maryland as particular strengths of the Biohealth Capital Region.