(The Center Square) — Virginia-based pharmaceutical manufacturing company Afton Scientific is expanding in the commonwealth.
The company will invest over $200 million in the expansion of its biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Albemarle County, bringing more than 200 new jobs to the area. Afton manufactures sterile injectable pharmaceuticals and stocks Ready-To-Fill® vial kits.
“Afton Scientific’s multi-million dollar expansion in Albemarle County is a powerful testament to Virginia’s thriving life sciences industry,” Gov. Glenn Youngkin said in a statement. “It is companies like Afton Scientific that showcase why Virginia was just named America’s Top State for Business in 2024.”
Private equity firm Arlington Capital Partners secured a majority investment in the company. The company will also receive a grant from the Commonwealth’s Development Opportunity Fund and recruitment and training services from the Virginia Talent Accelerator Program.
Afton isn’t the only pharmaceutical manufacturing company making strides in the commonwealth this year.
In July, Youngkin made an appearance in Petersburg to commemorate the opening of Phlow Corporation, a pharmaceutical manufacturer that forms – along with AMPAC Fine Chemicals, Civica Inc., and the Medicines for All Institute at Virginia Commonwealth University – Petersburg’s Campus for Advanced Manufacturing of Pharmaceuticals in the United States. The hope is that the existing institutions will attract more medical research and advanced manufacturing organizations to the city.
That hope has been partially realized in Charlottesville, home of the University of Virginia main campus, two large UVA research parks, and the “highest concentration of life sciences organizations” in the commonwealth. The greater Charlottesville area boasts more than 75 life science companies.
“Our county continues to grow as a recognized hub for innovation, particularly in the emerging biotech sector,” said Jim Andrews, chairman of the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors.
“Together, we are driving long-term prosperity for our region,” Andrews added, speaking to the public and private investment in the company’s expansion.
