Virginia Economic Review

As the world continues to struggle with drug supply chains and critical shortages, clusters of activity have emerged to move the needle of medication affordability and accessibility.

John Newby is the CEO of Virginia Bio, the nonprofit statewide trade association that serves and promotes the life sciences industry in Virginia.

Pam Cheng is executive vice president of global operations and IT and chief sustainability officer at AstraZeneca, which recently announced a new facility in Albemarle County — the company’s first in Virginia.

A lot changed in Virginia’s life sciences industry in the space of about a month last fall. Between Sept. 16 and Oct. 20, biopharmaceutical manufacturing giants Eli Lilly and Company, AstraZeneca, and Merck & Co.

A pharmaceutical manufacturing innovation that came out of a Virginia university is changing the way medicines are made. The Commonwealth’s universities and the rest of its biopharma research community are making sure Virginia is ready to make the medicines of the future.

Would more men try to prevent unintended pregnancies if their choices for contraception went beyond a condom or vasectomy?

In October 2025, shovels went into the ground in Elkton, marking the start of a $3 billion pharmaceutical expansion project that will add 400,000 square feet to Merck’s existing campus.

Drake Goolsby is chief commercialization officer at Luna Labs, a Charlottesville-based company that helps develop advanced technologies in biotech, advanced materials, and engineered systems for government, military, and industrial clients.

Like his fellow Type 1 diabetics, Alec Smith took insulin every day to regulate his blood sugar.