Old Dominion News

RICHMOND, VA – Governor Glenn Youngkin is proud to announce the Advanced Pharmaceutical Manufacturing (APM) Consortia in Petersburg has been awarded the highly competitive national designation of Tech Hub by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA). The APM Consortia is one of 31 Tech Hubs designated from a pool of over 400 applicants that will now be able to apply for $40 - $70 million dollars in implementation funding. 

As a testament to the Commonwealth's incredible pharmaceutical capabilities, the new Tech Hub designation will continue to boost the economy, create high-tech industry job opportunities, and increase the region's resilience through infrastructure, supply chain and workforce development. 

“Today’s Tech Hub Designation supports our plan to bolster this critical technology ecosystem and will build on the success of the Petersburg community to become a global leader in the pharmaceutical field,” said Governor Glenn Youngkin. “Becoming an internationally competitive high-tech hub for pharmaceuticals will provide lasting and resilient economic development to the residents of Petersburg and the Commonwealth of Virginia.” 

“Designation as an EDA Tech Hub is a transformative win for the Richmond-Petersburg Region – and the country – one that will change the landscape of opportunity for the communities we serve by developing and manufacturing affordable, accessible medicines in our Region,” said Joy Polefrone, PhD, Executive Director of the Alliance for Building Better Medicine. “This win reinforces the audacious vision of the Alliance members to become the global hub to transform the manufacturing of medicines in the coming decade while ensuring historically distressed communities have opportunities to thrive through careers in an impactful, rapidly growing industry.” 

“Serving as a designated Tech Hub by the U.S. Department of Commerce is an honor and well-earned win for a region on the rise,” said Chandra Briggman, President and CEO of Activation Capital. “As an innovation ecosystem development organization, our role at Activation Capital is to transform life sciences and other advanced technology innovation in the Commonwealth of Virginia by helping to launch collaborative programs like the Alliance for Building Better Medicine that are making an impact at home and around the globe. The Tech Hub designation is yet another monumental step forward for transformative programs that are powered by partners with a shared sense of purpose and determination to create a thriving and equitable ecosystem for generations of innovators to come.” 

The Advanced Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Consortia is supported by critical partners including institutions of higher learning, local government, private industry and nonprofits within the Commonwealth. 

With the support of our universities and public authorities, the Commonwealth is creating the conditions where innovation accelerators can thrive.  

Additionally, the New River Valley Regional Commission was awarded an EDA strategic development grant to advance a regional strategy to develop and deploy additive manufacturing system technologies for heavy industry to re-shore manufacturing and strengthen domestic supply chain resilience. 

Original source can be found here.