Virginia's Advanced Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Tech Hub Secures Federal Investment to Launch End-to-End Commercialization Project

This project led by Civica, Inc. and supported by Phlow Corp., Occam Systems, and more than 55 Alliance for Building Better Medicine partners advances a fully domestic medicine supply chain – from inputs to patients.

RICHMOND, Va., July 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Alliance for Building Better Medicine, the coalition leading Virginia's Advanced Pharmaceutical Manufacturing (APM) Tech Hub, today announced a $15.97 million investment from the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) to launch the End-to-End (E2E) Commercialization Project. The initiative will help establish a domestic commercialization pathway connecting innovation, manufacturing, and patients.

Led by Civica, Inc. (Civica Rx) and supported by Phlow Corp. and Occam Systems, the End-to-End Commercialization Project marks the latest milestone for the Alliance for Building Better Medicine. The Alliance includes 55 partners spanning industry, academia, workforce development, government, nonprofit organizations, and economic development, all working to strengthen America's pharmaceutical manufacturing ecosystem and expand domestic manufacturing capacity.

Together, the partners create an integrated domestic commercialization pathway: Occam Systems will accelerate the development of domestically sourced key starting materials (KSMs), Phlow Corp. will advance domestic active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturing, and Civica, Inc. will lead finished dose formulation, regulatory approval, commercial manufacturing, and delivery of medicines to patients.

The project will focus on four essential sterile injectable medicines used every day in emergency, anesthesia, and critical care settings: ketamine, midazolam, norepinephrine, and succinylcholine. The partners will connect domestically sourced key starting materials, active pharmaceutical ingredients, finished dose formulations, FDA approval, and commercial manufacturing through an integrated pathway designed to expand domestic medicine production in the United States.

The project builds on more than $1.7 billion in prior federal, state, philanthropic, and private investment that helped establish Virginia's Advanced Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Tech Hub, as well as nearly $14 billion in public and private commitments announced across the broader ecosystem since 2020. Together, these investments have strengthened domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing, innovation, and national security.

Today, more than 130 million Americans rely on medicines produced through increasingly complex global manufacturing networks. While persistent shortages continue to affect many critical therapies, decades of offshoring have also shifted manufacturing capacity, technical expertise, and pharmaceutical innovation overseas. The End-to-End Commercialization Project is designed to strengthen America's ability to develop, commercialize, and manufacture medicines domestically while expanding U.S. capacity for both established and innovative therapies.

"Virginia is an emerging leader in advanced pharmaceutical manufacturing, and we are committed to uniting industry, researchers, educators, workforce partners, and public leaders around a shared goal: ensuring medicines are reliably developed and manufactured in the United States," said Governor Abigail Spanberger. "This transformational investment from the EDA reflects a confidence in Virginia's future that will help us create job opportunities for Virginians, encourage innovation, and strengthen our nation's pharmaceutical manufacturing ecosystem."

Since 2020, Alliance for Building Better Medicine has convened partners from industry, academia, government, workforce development, nonprofit organizations, and economic development to strengthen America's pharmaceutical manufacturing ecosystem and establish Virginia as a leader in advanced pharmaceutical manufacturing. The End-to-End Commercialization Project builds on more than six years of collaboration through the Alliance and Virginia's Advanced Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Tech Hub, where 55 partners collaborate across innovation, workforce development, manufacturing, commercialization, and patient delivery.

Since the launch of the Tech Hub in 2023, the Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing (CCAM) has served as the fiscal and administrative lead on behalf of the Alliance for Building Better Medicine, providing the operational backbone that has supported coalition coordination, implementation, and execution while participating as one of the Alliance's founding member organizations.

These collective efforts have helped secure a Build Back Better Regional Challenge award, designation as the nation's Advanced Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Tech Hub, National Science Foundation Engines support, Good Jobs Challenge workforce funding, advanced manufacturing infrastructure investments, and more than 20 shared project wins spanning workforce development, manufacturing, innovation, and commercialization.

That momentum has accelerated growth across the region. In 2025 alone, Virginia announced more than $13 billion in advanced pharmaceutical manufacturing investments, including major commitments from AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, and Merck. While these investments span organizations across the Commonwealth, they reflect the growing strength of Virginia's advanced pharmaceutical manufacturing ecosystem and the collaborative foundation built by partners throughout the region.

"This milestone reflects years of partnership, persistence, and shared commitment at the federal, state, regional, and local levels," said Joy Polefrone, Ph.D., Regional Innovation Officer for Virginia's APM Tech Hub and the Alliance for Building Better Medicine. "We are deeply grateful to Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, Representative Jennifer McClellan, Governor Abigail Spanberger, Mayor Danny Avula, Mayor Sam Parham, and the many leaders who have championed this work from the beginning. We are equally grateful to the Alliance's founding members and our 55 partners who chose collaboration over competition to build something larger than any one organization could accomplish alone."

"Since the launch of Virginia's Advanced Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Tech Hub, CCAM has been honored to serve as the lead on behalf of the Alliance, helping provide the operational foundation for this collaborative effort. The End-to-End Commercialization Project reflects years of shared commitment across the Alliance and demonstrates how sustained public-private collaboration can strengthen America's pharmaceutical manufacturing capabilities."

"We are honored to lead this effort alongside an extraordinary coalition of partners committed to improving the resilience of America's medicine supply," said Ned McCoy, CEO of Civica. "This initiative aligns with our mission to ensure that essential medicines remain available, affordable, and reliably supplied for the hospitals, healthcare providers, and patients who depend on them every day. That mission is as important today as it was when Civica was founded, and it continues to drive everything we do."

About the Alliance for Building Better Medicine

The Alliance for Building Better Medicine is a coalition of 55 partners working to strengthen America's pharmaceutical manufacturing ecosystem through innovation, workforce development, advanced manufacturing, and public-private collaboration. Through Virginia's Advanced Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Tech Hub, the Alliance brings together industry, academia, government, nonprofit organizations, workforce partners, and capital providers to help ensure medicines are developed and manufactured reliably, affordably, and sustainably in the United States.

SOURCE Alliance for Building Better Medicine