Federal officials announced this week that more than 130 Maryland early-stage biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies received nearly $49 million worth of tax credits for their investments the past two years as part of a billion-dollar federal campaign to promote therapeutic advances in the medical field.

The Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project grants were awarded to companies in 48 states.

Some of the Baltimore companies that received the grants, and which I've written about, include BioMarker Strategies, Gliknik and Corridor Pharmaceuticals. Companies were able to apply for a credit for each project they worked on. The maximum single-project award was $244,479. [The full list of Maryland companies is here.]

The federal departments of the Treasury and Health and Human Services oversee and administer the grants and tax credits to the companies, which are part of the Affordable Care Act of 2010.