AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, Merck commit $120M to Virginia pharma training

Pharmaceutical giants AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly & Co. and Merck & Co. have committed a cumulative $120 million to develop a workforce training center for advanced pharmaceutical manufacturing in Central Virginia.

The companies, each of which is planning to build manufacturing facilities in Virginia; the state government, including Virginia Innovation Partnership Corp.; and multiple Virginia colleges and universities entered into a memorandum of understanding to establish the center, which Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed at an event announcing the partnership on Friday.

Dubbed the Virginia Center for Advanced Pharmaceutical Manufacturing, the workforce development training program will offer stackable credentials and degree pathways from technician certifications to advanced degrees. Each year, 2,000 to 2,500 Virginians will graduate from the center with a degree or credential, Youngkin said.

“We’re going to be up and running in two years,” so people are graduating from the center by the time the companies’ manufacturing facilities start coming online, Youngkin told reporters.

AstraZeneca’s vice president of global engineering, Pran Patel, said Thursday, “This initiative reflects the commonwealth’s visionary approach to economic development and workforce readiness by linking Virginia’s exceptional academic network [with] real industry needs and also the creating of opportunities to help communities build meaningful, high-value careers in life sciences and manufacturing.”

The center will operate on a hub-and-spoke model, Youngkin said. VCAPM will provide simulated training space across approximately 90,000 square feet in the Richmond-Petersburg-Charlottesville area, according to a document from the governor’s office.

“We envision a core facility that has the physical training capabilities, either digital or real … but it’s hands on, so you have to create basically a model manufacturing hub where students can come, but you also need the spokes so we can touch in to our community college system in different places and our university footprint,” Youngkin told reporters.

The partnership’s facilities will include pilot-scale manufacturing suites, analytical labs, classrooms and flexible spaces.

According to a document from the governor’s office, VIPC will lead the center’s operations through the Virginia Center for Pharma Training (VCPT) under the Virginia Innovation Partnership Authority. A steering group with company and state members will guide planning, site selection and governance. A VIPC life sciences director will oversee daily operations and compliance. The center will also have a VCPT advisory committee composed of private sector, higher education and state representatives.

According to the governor’s office, the agreement includes a nonbinding timeline. Within 60 days, the parties expect to form the steering group and outline site and workforce options. Within 120 days, they will prepare term sheets for incentives and governance. The parties plan to execute definitive agreements within 180 days.

In September, Eli Lilly announced it planned to build a $5 billion facility in Goochland County. Early this month, AstraZeneca said it would invest $4.5 billion to build two facilities in Albemarle County, and on Oct. 20, Merck & Co. announced a planned $3 billion manufacturing facility in Elkton.

“As we invest here in Virginia, … we’re not just investing in facilities — we’re investing in people, and we’re committed to building diverse, highly skilled talent to lead the future of pharmaceutical manufacturing,” said Eric Hahn, Eli Lilly’s senior vice president of global API network expansion.

The state is investing $10 million in infrastructure for the training center, Youngkin said.

The higher education institutions included in the MOU are:

• Hampton University
• James Madison University
• University of Virginia
• Virginia Commonwealth University
• Virginia Tech
• Virginia Community College System