Health Care 2024: DR. ERIC EDWARDS

Frustrated that the United States had so many medications on the Food and Drug Administration’s drug-shortage list, Edwards partnered in 2020 with Frank Gupton, a college of engineering professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, to launch Phlow, a Richmond-based company that develops and domestically manufactures active pharmaceutical ingredients and finished pharmaceutical products.

A few months later, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded Phlow a four-year contract worth $354 million to create a domestic supply chain for essential drugs and pharmaceutical ingredients in short supply.

Last year, the company closed on a $36 million fundraising round to expand its commercial offerings, and in December 2023, Phlow announced it was the first pharmaceutical company to become a certified Benefit Corporation or B Corp, which recognizes companies that are leaders in creating
“an inclusive, equitable and regenerative economy.”

Phlow is part of the growing Petersburg-Richmond pharmaceutical hub, as well as a stakeholder in the so-called “Virginia Research Triangle,” a biotech cooperative initiative among VCU, Virginia Tech, Old Dominion University and the University of Virginia. In July, Phlow’s plant in Petersburg started production.

Before funneling his energy into Phlow, Edwards co-founded Kaléo, which produces autoinjectors for allergies and drug overdoses.