The Formula Behind Virginia’s Biopharma Boom

Within the past four months, two top global biopharmaceutical manufacturing companies, Eli Lilly and Company and AstraZeneca, have announced plans to establish major new operations in Virginia, drawing attention from both the biopharmaceutical industry and larger business community.

The back-to-back announcements that will bring hundreds of jobs and billions of dollars in investment came together quickly and lead to the question: Why Virginia?

The answer is that the Commonwealth’s strategy behind its biopharma boom has been years in the making.

Virginia has spent decades aligning education, workforce, research and development, sites and logistics to the needs of an industry defined by precision, scale and speed. Today, Virginia offers executives a rapidly deployable, end-to-end platform to produce the next generation of medicines.

Education is the backbone to Virginia’s strategy, having been ranked No. 1 in education for the past three consecutive years and six times total by CNBC. Virginia’s K–12 system, colleges, universities and workforce programs ensure companies have access to a highly-skilled workforce. Flagship institutions like Virginia Commonwealth University (including the Medicines for All Institute), the University of Virginia (with the Paul and Diane Manning Institute of Biotechnology) and Virginia Tech (and its Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC) are nationally recognized for educating engineers and scientists while advancing medical research. Pharmaceutical manufacturing programs at Virginia community colleges give students hands-on experience in complex drug production.

While the education system is molding Virginia’s skilled workforce, the Commonwealth’s site-readiness and logistics are what has been a deciding factor for major Virginia wins. The Virginia Business Ready Sites Program delivers project-ready locations tailored to advanced manufacturing.

Additionally, Washington Dulles International Airport’s expanding air cargo capabilities will allow for 24- to 48-hour delivery windows, which is especially important for time-sensitive cell and gene therapies and pharmaceutical shipments. The Dulles air cargo expansion complements The Port of Virginia’s already-established transportation network. Investments in site development and logistics infrastructure increase Virginia’s speed-to-market capabilities so manufacturers can quickly mobilize and scale.

On top of education, talent, sites and infrastructure, targeted investments over the past five years have helped build biopharma momentum. At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, Virginia began focusing specifically on pharmaceutical manufacturing to help alleviate drug shortages and strengthen domestic supply chains. More than $1.3 billion from state, federal and philanthropic partners has flowed into infrastructure, workforce development and public-private research collaborations. Not only does this investment turn strategy into capacity, but it also shows the depth of investment by partners at all levels of government and from the private sector.

Now, global industry leaders are validating the Commonwealth’s model, too, with Lilly CEO David Ricks bringing next-generation cancer drug manufacturing to Virginia and AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot citing “Virginia Speed” as a reason for choosing the Commonwealth. The new investments by AstraZeneca and Lilly affirm Virginia’s capabilities and will strengthen Virginia’s momentum in attracting and retaining talent. These biopharma anchors also will attract suppliers and shorten supply chains alongside existing Virginia leaders such as Merck and Novo Nordisk. The ripple effect creates more opportunity for students, more choice for companies and a deeper ecosystem for innovation in Virginia.