Launched in February 2012, We Work for Health Virginia is comprised of more than 30 organizations including the Virginia Chamber of Commerce, Virginia BIO, the Fairfax Chamber of Commerce, The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Virginia, the Greater Washington Board of Trade, the Medical Society of Virginia, the MS Society, the Lupus Foundation of America, Leukemia-Lymphoma Society, Rx Partnership, the Psychiatric Society of Virginia, and the Arthritis Foundation.
Our chairs include Barry DuVal, President and CEO of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce; John Newby, CEO of VABIO: former Senator Edd Houck: and Mark Herzog, Vice President with kaléo.
Coalition members have recently held events and met with Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, and Congresswoman Spanberger, and Congressmen, Cline, Riggleman,and Griffith. We have hosted events with Governor Northam, Governor McAuliffe, and Governor McDonnell, and have highlighted the economic impact of the 3,400 clinical trials that have taken place in the Commonwealth since 1999. These clinical trials have helped to fight the 6 most chronic diseases facing Virginians: cancer, stroke, diabetes, heart disease, asthma and mental illness.
The biopharmaceutical sector is the foundation of one of Virginia’s most dynamic innovation and business ecosystems. Not only does the industry invest heavily in the research and development of new treatments and cures, it also generates high quality jobs, powers economic output and exports for the U.S. economy and sustains a very large-scale supply chain.
Update
Read our statement of opposition on HR 3 and other drug pricing proposals.
Learn about the economic impact of HR 3 and drug pricing proposals in Virginia.
Supporting High Quality Jobs in Virginia
The innovative biopharmaceutical sector directly supported 9,743 jobs in Virginia in 2020. These jobs are often high-skill, high-wage professions.
The industry also supported another 34,985 jobs indirectly, for a total of about 44,728 jobs across the Virginia economy. These additional jobs are with vendors and suppliers such as construction companies and I.T. companies, and jobs generated by the sector’s employees such as day care centers and restaurants.
Virginia workers whose jobs were supported by the biopharmaceutical sector paid a total of $727 million in personal taxes in 2020—$626.1 million in federal taxes and $100.9 million in state taxes.
Virginia's Economic Impact
In 2020, the biopharmaceutical sector supported $13.4 billion in economic output for the state of Virginia—including $6.4 billion generated directly by the sector, and another $7 billion through its vendors and suppliers and through the economic activity of its workforce.
vendor relationships
vendor spending
$589,743,635
Partners
For more information on WWFH-VA, please contact us at info@weworkforhealth.org.
