LAFAYETTE — Ichor Therapeutics has purchased the former LaFayette Family Health Center at 2561 Route 11 to expand its operations with plans for additional hiring.

Ichor (pronounced EYE-core) Therapeutics is a biotechnology company that develops therapeutic interventions for age-associated disease.

The firm, located at 2521 Route 11 in LaFayette, on Aug. 2 announced it was getting the building for additional research and development (R&D) work. Ichor is purchasing the 5,400-square-foot building just north of its 8,400-square-foot office on Route 11, Kelsey Moody, CEO at Ichor Therapeutics, said at the announcement event outside the Ichor office that day.

The Syracuse Community Health Center (SCHC) closed the LaFayette Family Health Center on Aug. 1, 2017, according to an SCHC news release.

Ichor Therapeutics bought the building from LaFayette Commons III, LLC and expects “to have everything finalized within a few weeks,” Moody said in an email reply to an Aug. 7 CNYBJ inquiry.

Petersen Cor Associates, LLC of Van Buren will handle the construction work on the project. The renovations will support Ichor Therapeutics’ R&D efforts, including clean rooms, laboratory space, and some office space, Moody added.

“We’ve closed on a $2 million infrastructure investment that will allow us to grow our company to 13,000 square feet and put on an additional 14 full-time employees… Our goal with this is to be able to partner with higher [education] institutions and other early-stage companies to help them move promising technology from a discovery stage and into an actual product pipeline and get that to the clinic,” Moody said in his Aug. 2 event remarks.

Ichor has secured the funding for the expansion from its “founding investor who’s a self-made millionaire and entrepreneur in the United Kingdom,” Moody said.

Besides the planned expansion, the firm also heralded the formation of Grapeseed Bio, which it describes as a life-science “strategic fund and accelerator program.”

Ichor is also partnering with SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF) in Syracuse to train graduate students in researching drugs that could combat age-related illnesses. 

Ichor Therapeutics is “arguably the most successful” life science start-up in Central New York, having raised millions to support various translational research programs since its founding in 2013. “It continues to double in size annually,” according to a news release about Grapeseed Bio.

Grapeseed Bio

Ichor has created an investment fund called Grapeseed Bio, a seed fund that will support companies that have “very early, probably non-fundable, early-stage ideas,” said Moody. Besides his role as Ichor Therapeutics CEO, Moody is also a managing partner of Grapeseed Bio.

Ichor Therapeutics has earmarked $1 million in funding for the program, the firm said in its news release about the fund.

Through this program, life-science entrepreneurs receive up to $100,000 in seed funding, technical training, full access to Ichor’s research laboratory, and mentorship in exchange for equity.

“To kick start this program, we’ve actually done a $75,000 placement in a virtual biotech company out of Texas called Repair Biotechnologies, which is doing some excellent work in the treatment of atherosclorosis and also reversing age-associated loss of immune function,” said Moody.

Atherosclerosis is the build-up of fats, cholesterol, and other substances in and on the artery walls.

The Texas firm plans to move to LaFayette and work with Ichor and occupy its laboratory “to move their programs forward.” The firm plans to bring two or three full-time employees for its work with Ichor, according to Moody. 

Ichor, SUNY-ESF partnership 

The educational component of the partnership will occur at SUNY-ESF, where students will focus on biochemistry, chemistry, or bioprocess engineering, according to an ESF release. Their laboratory research will primarily happen at the Ichor facilities. 

The scientific study of human aging has “exploded” in recent years, driven by a “growing understanding” of age-related disease and associated molecular pathways. The use of drugs for targeted purposes, such as selectively destroying toxic senescent (aging) cells, has been identified as a “method” for increasing mammalian lifespan. It’s resulted in a “demand for qualified,” post-graduate-level scientists to support “emerging pharmaceutical companies, such as Ichor Therapeutics,” ESF said.

 “This initiative will allow graduate students to leverage their work experience at Ichor Therapeutics with the scientific expertise of the world-class faculty at ESF. This represents an ideal industrial-academic collaboration,” Chris Nomura, VP of research at ESF, said in the school’s news release.

SYRACUSE — State Senator David J. Valesky (D-Oneida) announced that eight libraries in Onondaga County have been awarded public library construction grant funds. The capital funds, provided for in the 2017 New York State Budget, will enable the libraries to start or complete various projects that will improve patron services. 

“Libraries across my district continuously report increased patronage,” Sen. Valesky said in a news release. “I am pleased to be able to support this grant funding to help libraries with building upgrades and improved services to meet community needs.” 

The following eight libraries in Onondaga County are receiving grants. 

• Liverpool Public Library — $7,158 for upgrades to the pavilion area of the library to improve ADA access and security. 

• Northern Onondaga Public Library at Brewerton — $57,569 to replace the original roof and five skylights. 

• Northern Onondaga Public Library at Cicero — $46,370 to replace the roof and restore the water-damaged wall and book drop. 

• Northern Onondaga Public Library at North Syracuse — $103,488 to upgrade to LED lighting and to renovate the patron service and workroom areas. 

• Onondaga County Public Library, Beauchamp Branch — $16,500 to replace the HVAC system. 

• Onondaga County Public Library, Central Library — $115,211 to renovate the basement level of the library. 

• Onondaga County Public Library, Mundy Branch — $45,917 to replace the HVAC system. 

• Tully Free Library — $5,754 to replace the library’s existing fluorescent lighting with LED lighting. 

New York’s public libraries are in “urgent need” of renovation and upgrading, Valesky contended. A recent survey showed a “documented need” for public library construction and renovation projects totaling more than $1.7 billion. More than 51 percent of the over 1,000 public library buildings in communities across New York are more than 60 years old. Another 33 percent are over three decades old, the release stated. Many of New York’s local public libraries cannot accommodate users with disabilities, are energy inefficient, and lack Internet, computer, and other electronic technologies for users because of outdated and inadequate electrical wiring. Many libraries lack sufficient space to house their expanding collection, address the need for adequate meeting room, or provide for public -access computers, Valesky added.

Project activities and expenditures eligible for grants from the State Aid for Library Construction Program include financing construction of new library buildings, construction of additions to existing buildings, and the renovation and/or rehabilitation of existing space. Projects may include roof replacement, purchase and installation of alternative-energy resources, new HVAC systems, windows, doors, lighting systems, electrical upgrades, and construction of new or replacement of old walkways and parking lots, per the release. New furniture, shelving and equipment, including computer equipment, may be purchased for new or newly reconfigured or renovated space. Renovations designed to provide accessibility for patrons with disabilities are a “high priority.”