Virginia Biotechnology Association

09/04/2026

✨ WOMEN BUILDING BIO IS BACK, WITH A WHOLE NEW EXPERIENCE!

This year, we’re shaking things up. A new evening format. A new location. The same incredible community leading life sciences forward.

📅 Thursday, October 29
📍 Sheraton Suites Old Town Alexandria

Keep your day plans. Save your evening. You won’t want to miss this one.

🔗 Keep up with the latest Women Building Bio updates: https://bit.ly/468ojDv

08/17/2026

A Pancreatic Cancer Breakthrough Shows What Innovation Can Deliver

For decades, metastatic pancreatic cancer has remained among the most difficult cancers to treat. At the 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting (https://www.asco.org/abstracts-presentations/268016), researchers presented findings that brought the audience to its feet.

In the phase 3 RASolute 302 trial, the investigational medicine daraxonrasib doubled median overall survival among patients with previously treated metastatic pancreatic cancer, from approximately 6.7 months with chemotherapy to 13.2 months. It also reduced the risk of death by 60%, extended progression-free survival and delayed deterioration in pain and quality of life. Read more about the results: https://www.oncologynewscentral.com/pancreatic-cancer/standing-ovation-at-asco-2026-for-grand-slam-pancreatic-cancer-data-daraxonrasib-doubles-survival

Daraxonrasib is not yet approved by the FDA, but these findings demonstrate what sustained scientific research, private investment and rigorous clinical trials can make possible. For patients and families, additional months are far more than a statistic. They mean more time together and renewed hope against a disease that has offered too little of either.

Virginia has a direct stake in protecting this innovation ecosystem. The Commonwealth is home to more than 3,400 life sciences companies, an industry that supports more than 30,000 jobs, contributes approximately $8 billion to Virginia’s economy and sponsors nearly 1,200 clinical trials each year. Pro-innovation policies can help Virginia attract capital, develop scientific talent, expand advanced manufacturing and move discoveries from the laboratory to patients.

As policymakers debate Most-Favored-Nation pricing and potential expansions of federal drug-price controls, they must consider how those decisions could affect investment in the next generation of treatments. Patients need affordable access to today’s medicines, but they also need the breakthroughs still being developed.

Virginia Bio supports policies that advance both access and innovation, strengthen Virginia’s growing biotechnology sector and ensure researchers can continue pursuing treatments once thought beyond reach.

08/07/2026

Biotech is entering one of its most promising eras, but the system built to deliver breakthrough treatments to patients hasn't kept pace with the science. A new RealClearHealth opinion by I am Biotech Board Chair and Senior Vice President of Public Affairs & Access at Genentech Fritz Bittenbender explains the policies needed to close that gap and get treatments to patients faster:

Somewhere in America today, a patient is waiting for a treatment that does not yet exist. A family is waiting for a miracle. And thanks to extraordinary advances in biotechnology, a breakthrough may b

08/05/2026

The program has turned into a profit-maximizer for large hospital systems. Without federal action to improve transparency and accountability, there is no way to ensure patients are benefiting from the program. See how has strayed from its intent in Virginia from Alliance for Integrity and Reform of 340B:

Are ‘s 340B Hospitals Putting Profits Over Patients? The 340B program should help vulnerable Virginia patients. Instead, 340B hospitals, contract […]

07/15/2026

Last week, a Colorado court blocked the state Prescription Drug Affordability Board (PDAB)’s attempt to set its first upper payment limit (UPL). It is another example that a is not the way to lower patients' out-of-pocket costs.

Real affordability protects access to care and the research and development driving new treatments and cures. Governor of Virginia stood up for patients and innovation when she vetoed the Affordable Medicine Act in 2026. Virginia legislators must follow her lead and prioritize policies that protect access to lifesaving treatments. ➡️

A federal judge has temporarily blocked a price cap set by Colorado's Prescription Drug Affordability Board on Amgen's blockbuster drug Enbrel.

07/10/2026

Virginia secured #3 on the CNBC 2026 list of America's Top States for Business — thanks in no small part to our growing life sciences ecosystem. In 2025 alone, AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly and Company, and Merck & Co. invested a combined $13 billion in Virginia pharmaceutical manufacturing, part of an industry that now supports more than 30,500 jobs and contributes over $8 billion to the Commonwealth's economy. Backed by strong research universities and a growing manufacturing base, Virginia has real momentum. Now it's on state lawmakers to keep this growth going. Read more:

CNBC's annual study puts all 50 states to the test across 138 metrics and 10 categories of competitiveness. These are America's Top States for Business.

06/25/2026

"While efforts to improve patient affordability should be a primary focus for our state lawmakers, putting the word 'affordability' in the name of a policy doesn't magically make drugs more affordable. True affordability requires understanding the full pharmaceutical supply chain and the factors that actually drive down costs for patients."

Virginia's Affordable Medicine Act would have jeopardized patient access to life-saving therapies across the Commonwealth and would not have delivered real healthcare savings. States like Maryland and Colorado have tried a similar approach but have not lowered prescription drug costs. In Richmond Times-Dispatch, NICA - National Infusion Center Association CEO Brian Nyquist explains why Governor of Virginia made the right call to veto the bill and why Virginia lawmakers must focus on real solutions that put savings directly into patients' pockets. Read more:

Governor Abigail Spanberger’s veto of Virginia’s proposed Prescription Drug Affordability Board was a necessary, evidence‑based decision that protects patients from policies that threaten access to infusion therapies, destabilize the pharmaceutical

06/22/2026

"The analysis estimates that combined pressures, including NIH funding instability, FDA capacity challenges, IRA price negotiations, and potential Most-Favored Nation-style pricing, could reduce the number of novel drugs approved by up to 55% over the next two decades.”

In a new report, Magnolia Market Access shows that interacting policy pressures on NIH funding, FDA capacity, IRA price negotiations, and potential Most-Favored Nation-style pricing could eliminate new life-saving treatments patients rely on. Policymakers must act now to protect patients and preserve Virginia's growing life science industry now. Read the full analysis here:

Download Magnolia Market Access’ analysis of how research funding, regulatory capacity, and drug pricing pressures may affect future medicines, patient access, and U.S. biotech leadership.

06/17/2026

“The 340B Program was created with the intention of helping safety-net providers care for low-income and vulnerable patients; however, as hospitals and larger entities participate and expand affiliated contract pharmacies, visibility has become limited into how the program’s generated discounts are used and whether those savings are reaching patients.”

Thank you to Congressman Morgan Griffith for shining light on abuse of the 340B program during a recent House Energy & Commerce hearing. The federal 340B program is in dire need of federal reform to improve transparency and accountability.

Learn more about 340B in Virginia:

The 340B program has grown exponentially since its inception and is now the second largest federal prescription drug program, behind only Medicare Part D. Unlimited growth of this program would

06/08/2026

🚀 Registration is open for the 12th Annual BioHealth Capital Region Week!

Join biohealth leaders from across the region Sept. 15-17 in Rockville, MD, for collaboration, innovation, investment, and growth. Plus, applications are now open for the Crab Trap Competition!

🔗 Register today: https://bit.ly/43Xal6a