Federal Government imburses Virginia with $52M for R&D in Pharmacology

The Covid-19 pandemic was an eye-opener for the U.S. government when it came to the state of pharmacology development in the country. As a result, in 2021, the White House proposed a plan to increase domestic drug production that would help decrease health security vulnerability and foreign reliance. Consequently, The American Rescue Plan funding came into being.

The plan calls for a public-private partnership that has been able to pinpoint around 50 to 100 essential medicines whose production needs to be brought back to the U.S. This is to ensure that the state is not entirely dependent on drugs and active pharmaceutical ingredients (API)  produced in foreign countries.

Virginia has been able to reel in $52.9 million in funding under President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better Regional Challenge (BBBRC). This funding is part of a larger $1 billion challenge that aims to mitigate serious supply and manufacturing issues across the US. Moreover, pharma isn’t the only thing that the Build Back Better Regional Challenge is focusing on, the overarching aim of the project is to provide entrepreneurial support and infrastructure, workforce development and innovation. These projects will span across 24 states.

According to the Department of Education’s Economic Development Administration, there are a total of 21 winners for this funding, and the Virginia Advanced Pharma Manufacturing and R&D Cluster happens to be one of them. Each of the 21 winners received funding between $25-$65 million to implement 6 projects on average to enhance competitiveness in each region. These 21 awardees came from a group of 60 finalists that the Economic Development Administration (EDA) shortlisted and come from a greater pool of over 500 applicants that goes to show the great demand for transformational economic solutions.

BBBRC is an unparalleled federal grant programme and the EDA has been given an additional $3 billion funding under the American Rescue Plan to assist communities nationwide in their efforts to build back, after the coronavirus pandemic so that they may be resilient to future economic shocks.

“The Advanced Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Cluster will generate a major boost to an emerging, regional industry of critical importance to American global competitiveness,” said. Gina Raimondo, U.S. Secretary of Commerce.

Virginia in particular is hoping to use the allocated money to expand the local supply chain for necessary medicines and APIs. The funds will also be used to focus on the growth of the rising pharma industry in central Virginia.

Moreover, this state initiative also includes an emerging partnership between Virginia State University and Virginia Commonwealth University. This partnership aims to train and create jobs for usually overlooked residents of the pharmacology industry.

There are plans to increase production capacity in Petersburg through infrastructure development and investments are being made in engaging with local pharmaceutical distributors as well as in new wet lab spaces. 

Supporters of the funding initiative such as U.S. Senator Mark Warner, D-Va are pleased with this development. He has stated that he is a proud supporter of the American Rescue plan and believes that the project is a step in the right direction when it comes to strengthening the roots of the pharmacology industry in the state. He also felt that the project will bring economic prosperity in Virginia and generate employment.