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

Eric Arocho is associate vice president at Eli Lilly and Company and the site lead on the company’s facility in Goochland County, Virginia - announced last year. The Goochland facility, expected to be completed within the next five years, will produce both critical drug components and finished medicines to support Lilly’s emerging bioconjugate platform and monoclonal antibody portfolio.

Investments from Virginia Tech, Carilion support critical studies in brain, heart, and cancer issues.

Recent major biopharmaceutical announcements have sent a clear signal from the industry: Virginia is the future of biopharma manufacturing.

Merck’s $3B expansion in Rockingham County builds on an 85-year legacy in Elkton, Virginia and adds 500 new jobs in the Commonwealth. The investment underscores the site’s long-standing role in producing essential medicines for global distribution and reflects Merck’s continued commitment to innovation, resilience, and patient-first care.

A look at the partnerships and targeted investment that created the next U.S. biopharma hotspot — and the work that still needs to be done.

VEDP's Vice President of Manufacturing Sneha Atwal speaks with Dave Maraldo, senior vice president of Human Health Manufacturing Operations at Merck, one of the five largest biopharmaceutical companies in the world.

With recent investments in biopharma manufacturing, Virginia is meeting the moment with a major push to build its talent pipeline, launching new training programs and a dedicated workforce center to prepare workers for advanced manufacturing roles. As reshoring accelerates, the Commonwealth is positioning itself not just as a production hub—but as a leader in workforce readiness. 

Merck, Eli Lilly, Astra Zenec and more have made investments to expand in Virginia, signalling a broader surge in U.S.-based biopharma manufacturing as major drugmakers invest billions to bring production stateside. Driven by pandemic-era supply chain risks and new policy incentives, a nationwide reshoring wave is rapidly gaining momentum.

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. VEDP Vice President of Manufacturing Sneha Atwal spoke with Cheng about the Commonwealth’s rapid rise in pharmaceutical engineering and the company’s plans for the new facility.