Advil-maker Haleon investing $54.2 million in its Richmond plant
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The maker of Advil, Tums and Sensodyne toothpaste is investing $54.2 million to upgrade its global research and development facility in Richmond.
Why it matters: The upgrades could lead to more local jobs and help establish the region as a "pharma corridor, " per a news release.
The big picture: Representatives from U.K.-based pharmaceutical company Haleon, Gov. Youngkin and Mayor Avula announced the investment at a presser at the company's Northside plant on Monday.
- The $54.2 million will go to modernize the existing plant at 1211 Sherwood Ave. and help expand its research capabilities.
- Around 400 of the company's total 24,000 employees work in Richmond, BizSense reports. That number is up from around 300 in 2019.
- Youngkin met with Haleon leadership in London in July to discuss the project and the state is kicking in a $950,000 Virginia Investment Performance Grant toward it.
The state and company are also partnering to create a five-year consumer healthcare-focused paid internship program to help "develop the future workforce."
- The Haleon-Commonwealth Consumer Healthcare Internship Program for Advanced Life Sciences will offer paid internships for undergraduate students pursuing VCU's new Pharmaceutical Science degree, and paid summer internships at the Richmond facility that students at all Virginia colleges and universities can apply to.
Zoom in: Haleon's Richmond facility is the company's R&D Center of Excellence, specializing in formulation development, microbiology, product stability, packaging design, and consumer science, among others, per a news release.
- Its Richmond roots date back decades and many of its brands, like Advil and Emergen-C, were refined at the facility.
Fun fact: Haleon also owns Robitussin, which was created in Richmond by A. H. Robins Company in 1949. And it used to own ChapStick, which was invented in Lynchburg in the 1890s.