RICHMOND, Va., Nov. 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Alliance for Building Better Medicine (ABBM) and the Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation (VIPC) celebrated Governor Glenn Youngkin's announcement of $120 million in private industry investment from AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, and Merck to establish the Virginia Center for Advanced Pharmaceutical Manufacturing (APM) in the Richmond-Petersburg-Charlottesville region. This neutral, industry-led Center will expand Virginia's workforce and training pipeline in collaboration with university and community college partners to unleash the next generation of talent and innovation. This industry workforce investment follows $12.5 billion of recently announced capex investment in Virginia by these global Life Science industry leaders which will create thousands of jobs in Virginia in the coming years.
An official Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by VIPC Chief Executive Officer Joe Benevento and leaders from Lilly, AstraZeneca, Merck was executed by Governor Youngkin on October 31 in Richmond. ABBM Board Chair Robby Demeria and Regional Innovation Officer Joy Polefrone attended this momentous occasion along with the President of Virginia Commonwealth University, Michael Rao, and senior leadership representatives from University of Virginia; Virginia Tech; Virginia Commonwealth University; Old Dominion University; James Madison University; and Hampton University, as well as the Virginia Community College System, including Brightpoint Community College, Reynolds Community College, Piedmont Virginia Community College, and Blue Ridge Community College.
The Central Virginia region spanning Richmond-Petersburg-Charlottesville is a designated U.S. EDA Tech Hub for Advanced Pharmaceutical Manufacturing, led by the Alliance for Building Better Medicine, and this milestone marks another leap forward in Virginia's rise as an emerging Advanced Pharmaceutical Manufacturing national leader. Since 2020, the Alliance for Building Better Medicine has helped bring together business, government, academia, and nonprofit partners to strengthen America's pharmaceutical supply chain through innovation and workforce development. Today, the Commonwealth is emerging as the only U.S. region with a fully connected ecosystem, from research and innovation to production at scale, ensuring essential and innovative medicines are securely made domestically in America.
"This moment underscores how focus and coordinated acceleration create measurable impact," said Joy Polefrone, Ph.D., Regional Innovation Officer for the Alliance for Building Better Medicine. "Virginia's APM ecosystem has evolved from vision to execution – an integrated community of innovators, educators, and manufacturers working with shared purpose. Together, we're accelerating progress, building a future-proof workforce, and creating career pathways that lead to jobs which make a difference for our families, our communities, and the nation."
VIPC serves as Virginia's designated statewide economic development authority for growing innovation ecosystems across the Commonwealth. VIPC fuels growth in key strategic industries such as Life Sciences by supporting research, commercialization, entrepreneurship, talent, infrastructure, access to capital, and public-private partnerships. VIPC has catalyzed new statewide initiatives supporting Virginia's Life Sciences innovation ecosystem including Virginia's Research Diamond for university research and science recruitment, Virginia's Lab-to-Launch for technology commercialization, the Virginia Accelerator Network for entrepreneur and startup support, and Virginia Invest for access to investor capital.
"Workforce talent is an essential ingredient in cultivating a thriving innovation ecosystem. VIPC is thrilled to collaborate with industry leaders like AstraZeneca, Lilly, Merck, ecosystem partners like the Alliance for Building Better Medicine, and Virginia's world-class university and community college institutions to grow talent, innovation, and opportunity," said Joe Benevento, President and CEO of VIPC. "Virginia is leading the way in Life Sciences and Advanced Pharmaceutical Manufacturing, and we are accelerating growth together through the power of collaboration and innovation."
The Alliance for Building Better Medicine has helped attract nearly $1.5 billion in regional investment and positioned Virginia as a global leader in advanced medicine manufacturing. ABBM's collaborative efforts have previously led to successful Virginia recognition not only as a U.S. Tech Hub for APM but also as a recipient of an NSF Engines Development Award and the U.S. Economic Development Administration's Good Jobs Challenge Award. The newly announced Virginia Center for Advanced Pharmaceutical Manufacturing will build on these accomplishments and deliver industry-aligned workforce training, credentials, and certifications via hands-on Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) simulated training, classroom labs, and apprenticeships and internships.
"This moment reflects the power of partnership at its best: public and private sectors coming together to build better medicine, create meaningful careers, and strengthen the supply chain infrastructure that serves us all," said Robby Demeria, founding board chair of the Alliance for Building Better Medicine and Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at Phlow Corp. "This transformative investment embodies the mission that has guided the Alliance since its formation and represents the type of momentum we set out to create as a region just five years ago. Together, we are building better medicine."
SOURCE Alliance for Building Better Medicine
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