Greater Richmond’s existing industry leaders include Wyeth, Boehringer Ingelheim Chemicals Inc., Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc., Wako Chemicals, DuPont, Honeywell, Commonwealth Biotechnologies, PPD Development, UNOS, and Insmed.
The chemical industry is Greater Richmond’s largest manufacturing sector with more than 6,800 employees.
Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), which includes the VCU Medical Center, is ranked by the Carnegie Foundation as a Doctoral Research – University Extensive and received $227 million in externally funded research in FY 2006-2007.
John B. Fenn, research professor in the Department of Chemistry and affiliate professor of Chemical Engineering at VCU, was one of three recipients of the 2002 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
20 of VCU’s graduate and professional programs have been ranked by U.S. News and World Report as among the best in the nation.
MCV’s Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology ranks in the top 10 of NIH funded Pharmacology and Toxicology programs.
VCU offers drug development technologies in all stages from discovery to drug design and development through production.
VCU’s $50 million School of Engineering offers degrees in biomedical, mechanical, electrical, chemical, computer engineering and computer science.
The Virginia BioTechnology Research Park, a joint initiative of VCU, the Commonwealth of Virginia and the city of Richmond, is situated on 34-acres adjacent to the VCU Medical Center campus. The Research Park will accommodate 3,000 researchers, scientists and engineers in 1.9 million square feet of space when completed.
Phillip Morris USA’s $350 million Center for Research and Technology employs 500 life science researchers in a 450,000 square foot facility in the Virginia BioTechnology Research Park.
The Research Park houses Virginia’s first technology incubator, which has over 27,000 square feet of laboratory, office, meeting, and support space and has helped over 50 new technology companies start up in Greater Richmond.
