Webinar previews Petersburg’s future insulin facility

Free Press staff report

Petersburg’s role in producing more affordable insulin in the United States will be highlighted during RVA757 Connects’ Virtual Innovation Spotlight webinar Wednesday, Feb. 1.

The webinar will feature Allan Coukell, senior vice president of public policy for Civica, a nonprofit health group that is nearing the completion of a new 140,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Petersburg, and Joy Polefrone, executive director of the Alliance for Building Better Medicine, a cluster of advanced pharmaceutical manufacturers and researchers in the RichmondPetersburg region.

An online discussion will showcase Civica’s insulin shots, which will include aspart, glargine and lispro, will be available for no more than $30 per vial and $55 for five pens – a roughly 90 percent reduction from current list prices.

Civica also is building a facility at the Meadowville Technology Park in Chesterfield County for research and development. These facilities will join Virginia Commonwealth University’s Medicines for All and other pharmaceutical groups operating in the Richmond-Petersburg region that are working to reduce the cost of essential medicines.

The free webinar will run from noon to 1 p.m. For more registration information, please contact greg.gilligan@rva757connects.com.

Correction

An article in the Jan. 19-21, 2023, edition incorrectly reported that the superintendent’s proposed budget for Richmond Public Schools’ 2023-2024 school year was a 35.3 percent operating budget increase. The proposed budget was a $35.3 million increase. The Free Press regrets the error.

“Amazon has been proud to call Virginia home since 2006,” said Alicia Boler Davis, who was Amazon’s vice president of Global Customer Fulfillment at the time of the announcement.

“Collectively it takes a strong workforce and local support network to serve our customers across the Commonwealth and the region. The launch of this state-of-the-art fulfillment center in Central Virginia will create more than 1,000 jobs with industry-leading pay and benefits starting on the first day of employment. I’m excited to see Virginians continue to excel at Amazon, building better and brighter futures.”