Photo via Getty Images
Some medications are hard to come by. As of 2019, almost 80% of the manufacturing facilities that make active pharmaceutical ingredients the U.S. uses were located in other nations. Relying so heavily on overseas manufacturing, some experts say, leaves our health at the mercy of global economic levers beyond the country’s control. As a result, we’re seeing more drug shortages, and they’re lasting longer.
In the last few years, there have been shortages of medications for flu, RSV (especially for infants), COVID-19, drugs for diabetes, chemotherapy and inhalers. It’s a problem that affects all ages and one that’s been acknowledged by politicians and health care providers.
A part of the solution may soon be found in the Richmond region. Thanks to an alliance of researchers, colleges, the commonwealth of Virginia, local governments and more — plus many years of investment in biotechnology — the Richmond region is eligible for tens of millions in federal funding to grow a globally competitive, advanced pharmaceutical manufacturing hub.
In October, the Richmond region was awarded a Tech Hub designation by the federal Economic Development Administration. Richmond went up against nearly 400 applicants and was one of 31 to be given the title. But that was only phase 1. Phase 2, now in progress, has the region competing for funds to fuel the growth of a biotechnology industry that makes vital health care treatments safer and more affordable.
A Region Ripe for Jobs
In addition to boosting production of affordable medications, the nascent tech hub would generate an estimated 5,500 biopharmaceutical jobs over 10 years, according to the Alliance for Building Better Medicine, the coalition leading the application process. Many of those jobs would be in facilities in the works around Petersburg.
“Manufacturing left Petersburg in the 1980s, and that economy has been distressed since then,” says Joy Polefrone, director of the Alliance for Building Better Medicine. “You’ve got decades and generations of individuals who have not seen incomes above $26,000. It’s an incredible change when you think about some entry-level positions for advanced pharmaceutical manufacturing ranging between $40,000 and $50,000 a year.”
And there will be ripple effects: As one industry gets its footing, others will take note. What else might be drawn to the area? “Anything that you could think of that would go into the production of medications,” says Jennifer Wakefield, president and CEO of the Greater Richmond Partnership, an economic development organization for the region that markets the city and surrounding counties to industries and employers.
Syringes, needles, capsules (plus the ink to label those capsules) and packaging all need to be made, and don’t forget about refrigeration to keep those medications at the right temperature and the logistics and handling to get them where they need to go. Expect an ecosystem to grow around the new hub. The good news is, Richmonders already have many of the skills needed. “We’re really, really good at manufacturing,” Wakefield says.
The potential boom will also draw research and development, making Richmond competitive with Rockville, Maryland’s biotech industry to the north and North Carolina’s Research Triangle to the south. “When we think about tech hubs, it’s about becoming globally competitive,” Polefrone says. “It’s also about the innovation pipeline. How are you building entrepreneurial companies that can help ensure that we’re leading in a particular industry?”
Photo illustration by Sarah Barton
Building the Workforce for the Work
The initiatives creating a skilled workforce that will power the manufacturing, research and medical apparatus are difficult to quantify. In addition to university-level degrees that are or will become available — regional medical and biological sciences programs at Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia Union University and Virginia State University already produce hundreds of qualified graduates every year — the ecosystem of training and apprenticeships could open doors to people without four-year degrees who have long been denied access to jobs in science, technology, engineering and math fields.
“There are lots of options and lots of access points,” says Elizabeth Creamer, vice president of workforce development at the Community College Workforce Alliance, which works with businesses to train skilled workers in areas such as information technology and manufacturing. “We have the programs or we are about to start programs from sixth grade through the post-doctorate level.”
Both VUU and VCU produce chemical engineers prepared to work in biopharmaceuticals, and VCU also has a Ph.D.-level program in pharmaceutical engineering. J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College is working on a transferable associate degree program in biotech to encourage entrepreneurialism and the development of new technologies.
There are internships available through the Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing, and the Great Opportunities in Technology and Engineering Careers (aka GO TEC) project, its talent development initiative that introduces middle school students to burgeoning industries, will bring biotechnology to the classroom. That’s just a start.
If funds are awarded, projects tied to the proposal won’t be funded until later in 2024, so the work and roles those employers will generate is several years away. The jobs will be created by companies moving to the area and by established Richmond ventures. “It really depends on how well we do at becoming a magnet for attraction and for innovation; those two things are very much interconnected,” Polefrone says.
Landing the Money to Make It Happen
It has been a priority for both the Trump and Biden administrations to return pharmaceutical manufacturing to the U.S., both to create jobs and as a matter of national security. Drug shortages are not new in the U.S., but the severity of the situation came into focus when the nation found itself woefully underprepared for the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to a 2023 report by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Government Affairs, from 2020 to 2021, drug shortages increased by 30%, and by 2022 there was a deficit of 295 drugs, a five-year high. “While the average drug shortage lasts about 1.5 years, more than 15 critical drug products have been in shortage for over a decade,” it reads.
The possible pharmaceutical tech hub in Richmond has been years in the making. Since 2019, grants, federal funding and state funding have added $700 million for projects related to pharmaceutical manufacturing, including $52.9 million under the Build Back Better Regional Challenge. “When we look at that next tranche of projects, it will be and it is being influenced by that original strategy work,” Polefrone says.
That the region has already demonstrated commitment to manufacturing, research and development of advanced pharmaceuticals is one of the reasons it was chosen for the tech hub designation. This also makes it an attractive candidate in the competition for additional funding.
“What we heard from the EDA is that we’re addressing a national need and a gap that is recognized at the federal and state levels, and certainly at the White House,” Polefrone says. “The need is very important to the country and to the global footprint of pharmaceutical manufacturing.”
It really depends on how well we do at becoming a magnet for attraction and for innovation; those two things are very much interconnected.
—Joy Polefrone, director of the Alliance for Building Better Medicine
The alliance will file the application by the end of February and will learn before year’s end whether the region has been awarded funding and, if so, how much. In this second round of competition, the team will present specific projects that will build the hub, including workforce development and infrastructure for the facilities. Plus, the alliance will have to prove that the hub can be self-sustaining once federal money is exhausted. Hundreds of minds and hundreds of hours are poured into the funding application alone.
“The range of the funding per coalition will be somewhere between $40 million and $70 million, and the number of coalitions that they expect to award funding will be between five and 10,” Polefrone says. “It’s incredibly competitive.”
If Richmond doesn’t land the funding from the EDA, the plan to bring pharmaceutical manufacturing to the area doesn’t come to a halt, but progress will slow. In that case, the alliance will pursue other sources of funding.
“We might have to go out and raise philanthropic donor funding or advocate for funding from the state to support the economic development investments,” Polefrone says. The alliance was already building a strategic plan for the hub before it won the tech hub designation, so it doesn’t have to start from square one.
Still, Polefrone is confident in Richmond’s ability to land the capital required to kick-start the hub. “The impression the EDA gave us is that they really think that we can do this — and we really think that we can do this if we continue to invest in this work in the way that we have,” she says.
