Axios

The CDC estimates there were nearly 68,000 U.S. overdose deaths in the year ended March 2026, about 9,500 fewer than the prior year, according to an Axios analysis of provisional data.

Why it matters: The national decline masks a rise in reported deaths in 430 counties, underscoring the crisis' uneven trajectory.

RICHMOND — Virginia's biotech growth is drawing schools, industry groups and local governments into a statewide effort to boost the industry's place in the region's economy, state and business leaders said at an Axios event.

Why it matters: Education and workforce development efforts are investing in the biopharma talent pipeline earlier, even at the elementary school level, with the potential to connect more Virginians with jobs in the growing sector.

Axios' Sabrina Moreno and Brock Turner spoke to Virginia deputy secretary for commerce and trade Kristen Dahlman, Virginia Economic Development Partnership chief of talent and workforce strategy Megan Healy, Virginia Bio CEO John Newby and Goochland County administrator Jeremy Raley. The Oct. 29 event was sponsored by PhRMA.

What they're saying: Newby identified funding as a weakness for the region, compared to other biotech hubs like San Francisco and Boston. "So we're strong in all categories. The one category that Virginia in this region is weakest in, vis-à-vis the rest of the country, is funding," Newby said.

• Virginia Bio, the nonprofit life sciences trade group, is looking to address the funding gap by adding more investors to its board and attending national investment conferences.

The intrigue: Raley discussed how workforce and education investments are attracting biotech manufacturing in his community. He said Goochland County wants to build a career and technical education facility on a local high school campus and potentially target even earlier: in the K-12 pipeline.

• "[U]ltimately, students in kindergarten and first grade can get excited about careers in the pharmaceutical and advanced manufacturing industries, and ultimately create the skills that build upon themselves, so by the time they leave high school, they have a backpack of skills that they can use and apply to any sort of advanced manufacturing job," Raley said.
• Healy talked about efforts to prepare the region early to streamline the talent pipeline required for greater biotech investment. "We're investing in our community colleges to make sure our faculty understand manufacturing and we're producing the curriculum that our industry partners need."

Zoom out: Understanding AI's impact on Virginia's workforce is also a priority for expanding diverse industry investments, Dahlman said. "The hope is to really train and retrain and develop a talent pipeline that comes from the Commonwealth."

Content from the sponsor's segment:

In a View From the Top conversation, James P. Wheeler, associate vice president for Manufacturing Network Strategy at Merck, explained why Virginia is an advantageous biotech hub.

• "It's a great place to do business. It's a strong area of top talent, has strong infrastructure and utilities to support our investment and our continued growth," Wheeler said.

Elizabeth Carpenter, PhRMA executive vice president of policy and research, said Virginia's policy and regulatory landscape is a model for others in keeping America's global biotech advantage.

• "I think Virginia has been a really good example of what happens when you create a stable policy and regulatory environment," Carpenter said.

Go deeper: Watch the full event.

Today at 8:00am ET, tune in to conversations with Virginia Economic Development Partnership chief of talent and workforce strategy Megan Healy, Virginia Bio CEO John Newby and Goochland County administrator Jeremy Raley on the investments, workforce and partnerships driving Virginia's growth as a biopharma manufacturing hub.

The program will also include a sponsored View from the Top segment featuring Merck Manufacturing Network Strategy associate vice president James P. Wheeler and PhRMA Policy and Research executive vice president Elizabeth Carpenter.

One of the great economic puzzles of 2026 has been this: If the labor market is so strong, why has wage growth been so weak? New data points to health care as a major culprit.

The big picture: Employers' overall spending on worker compensation has continued rising at the same steady clip as last year — but more of that spending is going to employee health benefits, leaving less for wages and salaries.

The Trump administration is intensifying efforts to crack down on companies that manage drug benefits for most Americans.

Why it matters: Pharmacy benefit managers are again in the administration's crosshairs over allegations of opaque business practices and their ability to manipulate markets at the expense of patients.

We've written about how AI thus far has been much better at discovering drugs than developing them, which is a bit like being great at grocery shopping but helpless in the kitchen.

Driving the news: Formation Bio also sees the stubborn bottleneck, and just raised a $600 million "drug development accelerator" fund to help address it.

Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies America announced at this year's Heartland Summit that Arkansas and Kentucky will be the first states to receive major investments from the campaign, with $10 million going to each state over five years.

Employers swamped by rising health costs have found an alternative to traditional workplace coverage: giving workers cash to buy a plan themselves.

Why it matters: The approach is being touted by the Trump administration and JPMorgan Chase executives, among others, but is largely dependent on the market for individual coverage — which is currently facing double-digit premium increases.

House progressives are planning to use their growing power to force votes next year on their most sweeping and divisive policies, including Medicare for All, abolishing ICE and cutting aid to Israel.

Why it matters: The ultimate goal is to get these policies on the front burner for a Democratic president in 2029, even if that means forcing House Democrats into tough decisions.

Some Democrats are making a play for segments of the "Make America Healthy Again" base, hoping pitches about food safety and environmental health will attract voters disillusioned with the Trump administration's lack of progress on those fronts.

Why it matters: Policies around cleaning up the food supply and agricultural practices helped forge a coalition that's credited with helping President Trump win a second term.