Petersburg’s role in producing more affordable insulin in the United States will be highlighted during RVA757 Connects’ Virtual Innovation Spotlight webinar Wednesday, Feb. 1.

The webinar will feature Allan Coukell, senior vice president of public policy for Civica, a nonprofit health group that is near- ing the completion of a new 140,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Petersburg, and Joy Polefrone, executive director of the Alliance for Building Better Medicine, a cluster of advanced pharmaceutical manufacturers and researchers in the Richmond-Petersburg region.

An online discussion will showcase Civica’s insulin shots, which will include aspart, glargine and lispro, will be available for no more than $30 per vial and $55 for five pens – a roughly 90 percent reduction from current list prices.

Civica also is building a facility at the Meadowville Technology Park in Chesterfield County for research and development. These facilities will join Virginia Commonwealth University’s Medicines for All and other pharmaceutical groups operating in the Richmond-Petersburg region that are working to reduce the cost of essential medicines.

The free webinar will run from noon to 1 p.m. For more registration information, please contact greg.gilligan@rva757-connects.com.