White House awards $52.9M to pharma initiative that includes Petersburg manufacturers

PETERSBURG — Petersburg's developing pharmaceutical industry got quite a booster shot from the Biden administration Friday as it was announced that the pharma cluster will get $52.9 million to continue growing the business.

The White House awarded Virginia's Advanced Pharmaceutical Manufacturing [APM] Cluster, which includes the city and the Richmond area, funds from the $1 billion Build Back Better Regional Challenge. APM is one of 21 groups who will share the billion-dollar package.

There are several initiatives the APM Cluster money will cover, the top of which will continue to pump growth and development into the industrial area in south Petersburg where AMPAC Fine Chemicals, Phlow Corp. and Civica are building manufacturing and distribution centers. Part of the funding will go to a job-training program with Virginia State University and Virginia Commonwealth University where local residents will receive necessary skills for high-level pharmaceutical employment.

APM Cluster also plans to use funds from the award to improve pharma tech training at the area's community colleges, create a regional supply chain involving local businesses, and maintain infrastructure for current and future industrial needs in the city.

In a statement announcing the $52.9 million, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said the money will help the cluster "generate a major boost to an emerging, regional industry of critical importance to American global competitiveness.”

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted a gulf between U.S. drug manufacturing and its counterparts across the world, including China. With the continued political unrest between Washington and Beijing over control of the world economy, many U.S. manufacturers were looking for any and every edge they could get to maintain reliance on pharma supply.

The Virginia Biotechnology Research Partnership Authority leads the APM Cluster.

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Sen. Mark Warner, D-Virginia, called the money "a big, big win" for Petersburg, and an example of how an older, smaller city can compete with larger entities and be successful.

"Petersburg is tough," Warner said.

The winners were chosen from 529 applications nationwide, including one from Virginia Tech. Warner, who said he supported both of the Virginia applicants, said as time drew closer to the awarding of the money, he had an inkling that the APM Cluster would be successful

In business, success can be based on the number of follow-up phone calls and messages an entity gets, especially as the deadline draws closer. The more calls one gets, the more interest there appears to be, and Warner said this was no exception.

"We got about 90 days out [from the announcement] and the level of follow-up calls to Petersburg and Richmond had really increased," he said. That was when he felt confident in the outcome.

Warner said he felt relieved by the announcement because he recalled his time as Virginia's governor when Boehringer Ingelheim Chemicals Inc. announced it would shutter its Petersburg facility in 2014 and eliminate 240 jobs. That closure, while fiscally traumatic, laid the groundwork five years later when AMPAC located its operation to BI's plant on Normandy Drive.

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Two years later, Phlow Corp. announced it planned to open a manufacturing center in partnership with AMPAC at the industrial park. Earlier this year, nonprofit drug maker Civica said it would also open a plant in Petersburg to assist with the manufacture of affordably priced insulin.

"It's a little bit of a full circle," Warner said.

Warner's colleague, Sen. Tim Kaine, said the award proves "Virginia is leading the way in prescription drug manufacturing, helping make us less dependent on foreign manufacturers."

Petersburg Mayor Sam Parham, who attended a video call in Richmond with the White House when the announcement was made, had one word: "Finally."

"For so long the city has not been getting its just due," Parham said. Couple Friday's announcement with recent news about millions in state and federal money going into fixing up the Poor Creek water station infrastructure in south Petersburg, and the long-awaited demolition of the old Ramada Inn, and Parham said the "perfect storm" has been created.

"It's long overdue," the mayor said.

In a statement issued by his office, Rep. Donald McEachin, D-Virginia, whose district includes Petersburg, said the announcement "is incredibly welcomed news, as this funding will spur continued economic development and growth for the pharmaceutical park in Petersburg.”

Of the 529 applications received, 60 were chosen as finalists. Each received around $500,000 in funding and tech assistance to develop their cluster strategies and compete for one of the final 21 awards.

According to the Commerce Department website, the 21 awards ranged from $25 million to $65 million.

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Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) is an award-winning journalist who covers breaking news, government and politics. Reach him at batkinson@progress-index.com or on Twitter at @BAtkinson_PI.

This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Petersburg pharma cluster gets huge boost of federal dollars