This week, the Virginia Biosciences Health Research Corporation (VBHRC) announced its establishment to foster scientific research and provide a venue for public/private partnerships with Virginia’s leading universities.

The five founding universities include Eastern Virginia Medical School, George Mason University, University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University and Virginia Tech. VBHRC will also include an 11-member Project Management and Oversight Panel as well as a 13-member Board of Directors.

VBHRC’s mission is to encourage industrial partnerships and increase corporate-sponsored research at Virginia’s universities to augment the Commonwealth’s growing biotech industry. VBHRC’s ultimate goal is to develop life sciences technology that can be used to start new companies and create jobs.

The research focus of VBHRC includes bioinformatics and medical informatics, point of care diagnostics, and drug discovery and delivery.

VBHRC joins a list of leading research institutes in the Commonwealth, including SRI International, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 11 Federally Funded R&D Centers, and 20 FLC Laboratories.

Virginia continues to gain recognition for its life sciences industry and was recently ranked the No. 2 Emerging Biotech Hub in Business Facilities’ 2012 State Ranking Report. With its central location in the mid-Atlantic life sciences corridor and strong technology and life sciences workforce, Virginia is home to nearly 800 biotech companies.

To learn why the private sector has invested almost $2 billion in Virginia’s life sciences industry over the last decade, click here.