How CCAM Provides Value to Virginia’s Alliance for Building Better Medicine

“CCAM is committed to executing manufacturing excellence for regional growth. The Alliance for Building Better Medicine represents a once in a lifetime opportunity for Virginia, and we are dedicating resources to ensure its success for years to come,” says CCAM President & CEO, John Milton-Benoit.

Founded in 2011 under a public-private partnership, the Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing (CCAM) is an applied research center and 501c3 not-for-profit with members from industry, university and government. CCAM has created a resourceful and IP friendly collaborative environment that delivers solutions for complex advanced manufacturing challenges. CCAM plays an active role in the development of a talented manufacturing workforce by providing a substantial and diverse educational pathways; and is located in a state-of-the-art research facility in Prince George County, Virginia.

How CCAM provides value to the Alliance for Building Better Medicine in Central Virginia:

• Research and Development: The Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a member of CCAM; and Dr. Barbara Boyan, the Alice T. and William H. Goodwin Chair in Biomedical Engineering and School of Engineering Dean at VCU, serves as vice chair of CCAM’s Board of Directors. CCAM’s goals are to build capabilities and prove production concepts that accelerate process development, demonstrate scale-up for continuous processing, and integrate process intelligence technologies for the emerging pharmaceutical manufacturing cluster.
• Leadership Support: CCAM’s President and CEO, John Milton-Benoit, serves on the leadership committee for the GO Virginia supported Accelerated Pharmaceutical Cluster. In addition CCAM’s Lorin Sodell and Betsey Odell serve on the workforce and communications committees respectively.
• Attracting Federal Grants: CCAM is actively working with the Medicines for All Institute at VCU to solicit federal funding to support ongoing pharmaceutical manufacturing needs. In January of 2022, VCU and CCAM submitted a white paper to facilitate updating susceptibility test interpretive criteria (breakpoints) through the FDA. If awarded, the project will commence in August of 2022.
• 4-Year Degree Talent Pathways: In addition to the strong partnership with VCU, CCAM’s deep connection with partner Virginia State University (VSU) brings added depth to the Cluster’s relationship with this nearby Historically Black University. CCAM and VSU have a long history of sharing key resources, with researchers and faculty regularly working in each other’s labs to accelerate learning and advance research. Working together with Dr. Dawit Haile, Dean of the College of Engineering & Technology and Interim Dean of the College of Natural and Health Sciences, CCAM will play a key role in helping the Cluster achieve its goal of increasing the pipeline of Baccalaureate graduates from VSU and building a pathway for students to pursue graduate degrees.
• Middle-Skill Talent Pathways: CCAM, together with Richard Bland College of William & Mary, launched the first Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education (FAME) chapter in Virginia. The cooperative education program’s marquee pharmaceutical industry partners are AMPAC Fine Chemicals, Phlow Corp., and Civica Rx. FAME USA is sponsored by The Manufacturing Institute and the National Association of Manufacturers. www.CentralVAFAME.com

“CCAM is committed to executing manufacturing excellence for regional growth. The Alliance for Building Better Medicine represents a once in a lifetime opportunity for Virginia, and we are dedicating resources to ensure its success for years to come,” says CCAM President & CEO, John Milton-Benoit.