Bio & Life Sciences
Bio & Life Sciences
Virginia Beach Offers an Environment Where Bio & Life Sciences Companies Can Thrive
Biotechnology and life sciences play an increasingly important role in our everyday life, allowing us to address many global challenges such as climate change, an aging society, energy security, combating the spread of infectious diseases, reducing hunger, and remediating environmental degradation, just to name a few. This key industry and its real-world applications have the potential to revolutionize the society we live in and the organisms that we live alongside.
Virginia Beach embraces and fosters bio and life sciences and serves as a vibrant hub for both established and emergent companies in this sector. The City’s strategic location, existing infrastructure, talent pipeline, bio networks, capital access and incentive programs, combined with a commitment to innovation, are what makes Virginia Beach a natural “fit” for this industry.
Location Matters
The City of Virginia Beach is centrally located on the U.S. East Coast and situated between two major life science clusters: the Research Triangle Park of North Carolina and the BioHealth Capital Region, which encompasses the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Given the City’s proximity to these bio hubs, a number of companies in this industry choose Virginia Beach for their business so they can benefit from the advantages that these large clusters provide and get the perks of operating in a smaller community.
A distance of roughly 200 miles, or 322 kilometers, to Washington, D.C. or Raleigh-Durham in North Carolina from Virginia Beach represents a 3.5 to 4-hour drive or a 45-minute flight from our local international airport.
The benefits of establishing a business in Virginia Beach go well beyond its strategic location and proximity to other bio hubs. The City is a hotbed of growth and innovation. It has created an entrepreneurial ecosystem to fuel and facilitate innovation in addition to partnering with established companies such as Sentara Healthcare and LifeNet Health to drive advances in healthcare.
Why Virginia Beach?
Virginia Beach provides an opportunity to join a growing bio and life sciences cluster that offers a variety of competitive advantages that simply can’t be found in other markets.
Logistics Hub on the East Coast
The Virginia Beach area is home to the Port of Virginia, the third largest on the U.S. East Coast, and a superior multi-modal distribution network for moving goods quickly and efficiently across the country and overseas.
Lower Cost of Doing Business
Doing business in Virginia Beach is cost effective when compared to other bio and life sciences clusters in the country: labor costs, utility rates, and taxes are generally lower.
Higher Ed & Research Facilities
The area’s higher education system and research facilities produce highly qualified candidates with skills specific to the bio and life sciences sector.
Bio Accelerator & Startup Funding
Virginia Beach has its own bio accelerator facilities and funding program that provide the support needed to startup firms and companies that are new to the market.
Exceptional Quality of Life
Virginia Beach offers a superior quality of life to its residents and visitors and a safe place to raise a family, which plays a big role in attracting and retaining the best talent to our City.
Favorable Regulatory Environment
International firms entering the U.S. market will be pleasantly surprised to find fewer regulations, which are made even easier to navigate thanks to our team of experts.
City leadership supports the development of a bio cluster in Virginia Beach and provides resources to the private sector that facilitate market entry and success.
Higher Education & Research Institutions
More than 21,000 people are currently employed in the life sciences field in Virginia Beach (Source: VEC Community Profile 2020). The City also has a wealth of talent at its fingertips with local academic and research institutions that continue to produce highly qualified graduates every year.
Talent Attraction & Retention
Given the stiff recruiting market and low unemployment rate, factors like quality of life can make a significant impact on a company’s ability to attract and retain the right talent. Virginia Beach has what it takes to accomplish both. With a competitive cost of living, a moderate climate with four distinct seasons, and an abundance of recreational and cultural opportunities, it’s understandable why Virginia Beach is often nationally recognized as a great place to live! Read more about our quality of life here.
Virginia Beach: a Magnet for the Following Bio Sub-Sectors
Biotechnology is a broad, interdisciplinary field that encompasses various sub-sectors. The City of Virginia Beach appeals to a variety of biotech firms and typically attracts those that fall into one of the four following sub-sectors due to the unique assets found in our community.
BioAg
Companies that apply the principles of biotechnology to agricultural uses to make horticultural, aquacultural, and agricultural methods more efficient and profitable.
Agriculture is the third-largest industry in Virginia Beach, generating $134 million in economic impact annually. BioAg has received a lot of attention in recent years, as local farmers seek to diversify. Virginia Tech, a leading research institution in the Commonwealth, represents an outstanding information resource for local growers. Through the Hampton Roads Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Virginia Tech provides graduate training of the highest quality for students in horticulture and related plant sciences.
Medical Device Manufacturing
Companies that use medical technology in the research, development, production, and marketing of systems and devices for medical applications.
Virginia Beach has an established manufacturing base mainly due to its strategic location on the U.S. East Coast and its proximity to The Port of Virginia. Situated in a key logistics hub, and within a Foreign Trade Zone, the City is well-positioned to serve manufacturers looking to import, export, or ship their goods domestically and internationally. More than 25% of the region’s manufacturers are located in the City of Virginia Beach (Source: BLS 2nd Qtr 2020), a number of them producing medical devices and equipment.
Cosmetics
Companies that use biotechnology to discover, develop, and produce components of cosmetic formulations to minimize the impact on the environment.
Cosmetics companies who wish to enter the U.S. market often find it daunting as laws and regulations tend to differ significantly from those of their home country. The City of Virginia Beach provides extraordinary service to newcomers, helping them alleviate compliance concerns by making the necessary introductions to industry specialists and helping them navigate the reality of doing business in the U.S. Additionally, Virginia Beach is relatively close to Washington, D.C. and therefore in close proximity to key federal agencies (NIH, DARPA, FDA, and NSF) which is also an advantage to companies in this sub-sector.
Digital Health
Companies that focus on integrating technology into healthcare to enhance patient care, improve healthcare access, and offer new insights into real-world applications.
Healthcare is a key economic driver for Virginia Beach. The City is home to a number of hospitals and medical facilities, including Sentara Healthcare, which hires more than 30,000 employees throughout the region. With the growing need for medical wearables, as well as innovation in sharing or accessing healthcare data, Virginia Beach is a great market for companies that focus on developing digital health products. The new ultra-high bandwidth subsea data cables coming ashore in the City also represent an asset for this sub-sector.
Local Success Stories
While Virginia Beach is often the location of choice for startups and new-to-market companies, the local industry also encompasses large, global companies with a long history of success and strong name recognition such as LifeNet Health and Operation Smile.
VABEACHBIO – Our Local Bio Accelerator
The City of Virginia Beach opened its very own bio accelerator in the summer of 2021 which features wet/dry lab space with BSL-2 capability along with office space and conference rooms. Its business development programming includes mentoring and networking opportunities, as well as an introduction to capital and incentives programs.
It’s where imagination and innovation intersect. VABEACHBIO was established to attract early-stage companies – entrepreneurs – who want to transform their idea into reality. This membership-based program is focused on helping to equip startup life sciences companies for market entry and position them for success. Virginia Beach offers more than “just” space that is designed as “fit for purpose” but programming resources to support and assist fledgling companies as they grow. Read more
Additional Benefits to Bio & Life Sciences Companies
Did you know that companies that are members of the VABEACHBIO Accelerator also benefit from resources offered by other bio networks? The Virginia Beach Department of Economic Development works in collaboration with the following groups and industry associations:
Virginia Beach is Open for Business
Global Thought Leaders | March 28, 2022
City of Virginia Beach benefits from climate and geography. But it is its attitude towards businesses that has truly transformed the area. For an overview of the City and it’s business environment, watch the video below.
Are you considering Virginia Beach for your business?
The Virginia Beach Department of Economic Development consists of a small team of business development professionals and support staff who are responsible for recruiting national and international businesses to Virginia Beach, while also providing assistance to the City’s existing business community.
Our team members responsible for providing assistance to bio and life sciences companies include:
 Email: dcowhey@vbgov.com Phone: +1-757-385-6455 Virginia Beach Office |  Email: valvarez@vbgov.com Phone: +34639535736 Madrid (Spain) Office | 
Email: cmacdowe@vbgov.com Phone: +44 (0)7788 755300 Ipswich (UK) Office |
Our economic development team travels around the world to meet with business leaders at their facilities or at industry-specific tradeshows or conferences. A face-to-face introduction allows us to gain a better understanding of your business activities and unique needs.
The Virginia Beach Department of Economic Development also maintains an active presence in Europe with representatives located in the UK, Spain and Germany who are readily available to meet with you in person.
You can also connect with our team at the following events:
