Reinventing Pharma: Richmond-Petersburg leading the way in essential drug manufacturing
The Speakers:
The Moderator:
Dr. Eric Edwards is co-founder and chief executive officer of Phlow Corp., a pioneering public benefit pharmaceutical corporation. As CEO, Dr. Edwards has assembled a world-class team committed to providing a solution to the broken essential medicines supply chain and over-reliance on foreign manufacturers for our nation’s highest priority medicines.
Dr. Edwards was previously co-founder of Kaléo Inc. a pharmaceutical company in Richmond. During his 16 years at Kaléo, he held several executive management positions including chief science officer and chief medical officer.
He is the co-inventor of multiple marketed products, including AUVI-Q, epinephrine auto-injector for the treatment of allergic emergencies (anaphylaxis).
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Ned McCoy is the president and chief executive officer of Civica. He has been with the nonprofit since its founding.
His past roles included chief operating officer and chief business development officer. He has provided day-to-day oversight for Civica’s growing manufacturing efforts, including the building of Civica’s state-of-the-art essential medicines manufacturing facility in Petersburg.
Prior to Civica, McCoy worked at global healthcare company Abbott for 32 years, where he led teams in hospital products, pharmaceutical products (now AbbVie), nutrition, and corporate mergers and acquisitions.
McCoy is an inventor with 11 issued patents.
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Joy Polofrone is the regional innovation officer at the Advanced Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Technology and Innovation Hub, a regional consortium aimed to accelerate the growth, innovation, and sustainability of the U.S. pharmaceutical manufacturing industry.
Before that, Polefrone was the executive director of the Alliance for Building Better Medicine, a cluster of advanced pharmaceutical manufacturers and researchers in the Richmond-Petersburg region driven by an immediate and urgent need to create a reliable supply of safe, high-quality, and affordable medicines for all.
She also worked in health innovation and entrepreneurship at VCU and VCU Health, including as director of Health Innovations at VCU’s da Vinci Center.
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Robby Demeria is the chief corporate affairs officer for Phlow Corp. He also is board chairman of Alliance for Building Better Medicine
Demeria has over 20-plus years of experience in government, corporate, and community affairs with a strong reputation of delivering key success drivers for both public and private organizations.
Prior to Phlow, Demeria served as Virginia’s first deputy secretary of commerce and trade for technology and innovation, where he guided the administration’s policy and initiatives related to those focus areas.
He also was a trade association executive for nearly 15 years, serving as the president of the Richmond Technology Council and vice president of government affairs for the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce.
Tune in to a free webinar on Wednesday June 4 at noon to learn more about how the Richmond-Petersburg region is rapidly emerging as a national hub for advanced pharmaceutical manufacturing — reshaping how essential medicines are made and secured in the U.S.
This growing sector is critical to strengthening the country’s supply chain, enhancing national security, and ensuring equitable access to life-saving medications.
A unique mix of mission-driven companies, public institutions, and nonprofits — including Phlow Corp., Civica, the Alliance for Building Better Medicine, and the federally designated Advanced Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Tech Hub — is leading this transformation.
Together, they are not only reshoring production of essential medicines but also creating a next-generation workforce and accelerating innovation in pharmaceutical manufacturing.
For instance, Phlow, the Richmond-based public benefit corporation, is developing and domestically manufacturing Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) and finished pharmaceutical products that are critical to the nation's healthcare. Civica, for example, is the nonprofit pharmaceutical company which operates a 140,000-square-foot state-of-the-art pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Petersburg that will produce insulin products sold at an affordable price. Novo Nordisk, second-largest pharmaceutical company, bought the AMPAC Fine Chemicals’ location in Petersburg.
The growing industry cluster also is fueling job growth and innovation, creating new opportunities in STEM and manufacturing while building a regional workforce to meet the needs of a modern pharma ecosystem.
This webinar will feature leaders at the forefront of this movement — driving investment, collaboration, and impact from Virginia to the nation.