RICHMOND, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The 2011 Virginia General Assembly is being hailed as one of the most productive legislative sessions for the bioscience industry in the last decade. After months of preparation, outreach and dogged advocacy, volunteers and representatives from the Virginia Biotechnology Association scored victories for emerging bioscience companies on every item on its ambitious legislative agenda.
“Governor Bob McDonnell, Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling, Speaker of the House Bill Howell and a bipartisan team of leaders from both chambers of the General Assembly deserve our sincere thanks for passing new job-creating new programs such as the R&D Tax Credit,” said Thomas Thorpe, chairman of the Virginia Biotechnology Association and President of Afton Scientific, a Charlottesville-based bioscience company. “Investments in high-growth, high-wage, 21st Century industries, such as the biomedical sciences, are key to Virginia’s future as a reliable destination for innovators, entrepreneurs and skilled workers.”