Virginia Biotechnology Association

News

Companies Expand Export through VEDP Program

Afton Scientific of Albemarle County, and Mediatech of Prince William County were among the six companies from across the Commonwealth to graduate from Virginia Economic Development Partnership’s (VEDP) Virginia Leaders in Export Trade (VALET) program.  The six companies collectively have ... read more ».

2012 General Assembly Opens in Richmond

The 140 members of the Virginia House of Delegates and State Senate are back in Richmond for the 2012 legislative session, facing tough decisions on the state budget, transportation, higher education, K-12 education, state pensions and economic development initiatives. The Virginia Biotechnology ... read more ».

‘U.Va. Innovation’ to Foster new Ventures

U.Va. Innovation is a new University-wide initiative led by W. Mark Crowell, executive director of U.Va. Innovation and associate vice president for research, designed to enhance the activities of the University’s researchers and entrepreneurs and maximize the impact of innovative U.Va. ... read more ».

Oxford Provides $15M Senior Credit Facility

Oxford Finance LLC., a specialty finance firm that provides senior debt to life sciences and healthcare services companies based in Alexandria, announced a $15 million round of debt financing for Vitae Pharmaceuticals, a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company discovering and developing a ... read more ».

CIT GAP Funds Invests in SphynKx Therapeutics

The Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) has made a $50,000 investment in Charlottesville, Va.-based SphynKx Therapeutics LLC. SphynKx focuses on the discovery and development of small molecule therapeutics that target the sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) pathway in novel ways, potentially leading to ... read more ».

Our Mission

The Virginia Biotechnology Association (VaBIO) is the statewide non-profit organization that promotes the scientific and economic impact of the life sciences industry in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Approximately 200 biotechnology, pharmaceutical and medical device companies are based in Virginia, mainly clustered around universities in Blacksburg, Charlottesville, Richmond, Norfolk and Northern Virginia. According to a recent study by BIO, Battelle and Archstone LLC, the bioscience industry has a profound impact on the state’s economy:

• According to a study in 2011, the bioscience industry supported nearly 80,000 direct and indirect jobs in the Commonwealth.
• The value of the industry’s products and services was approximately $13.7 billion in 2008.
• Between 2001 and 2008, bioscience employment in Virginia grew by 23%, compared to 6% for all occupations statewide.
• Between 2001 and 2008, the number of bioscience companies in Virginia grew by 55%, compared to 18% for all companies statewide.
• The industry paid employees about $1.8 billion in wages in 2006, resulting in $81.6 million in state taxes and $433.3 million in federal taxes.
• Biopharmaceutical employees paid, on average, $4,091 in state taxes, compared to the much more modest $1,501 paid by the average worker in Virginia.
• In 2008, Virginia’s biomedical researchers conducted nearly 1,900 clinical tests of new medicines, including 678 trials for cancer drugs, 102 tests for heart disease medicines, 232 rare disease treatment trials and 80 tests for HIV/AIDS drugs.