SYRACUSE, NY, USA, June 3, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ — Lento Bio, a preclinical pharmaceutical startup focused on developing eyedrops for the treatment of presbyopia, announced today its relocation from Potsdam, NY to Syracuse, NY. The move comes as part of Ichor Life Sciences’ expansion into a new facility in downtown Syracuse, which will serve as a hub for biotech innovation and incubation.
Lento Bio is an Ichor Life Sciences portfolio company, which recently acquired the building at 831 James St. in Syracuse, investing $2.8 million in the purchase and renovation. The new facility will provide dedicated space for incubating start-up companies like Lento Bio.
“Ichor’s Syracuse headquarters aims not just to expand the company’s internal operations, but also to leverage Central New York’s burgeoning biotech ecosystem by establishing dedicated space to incubate start-up companies,” says Ichor CEO Dr. Kelsey Moody. “As a rapidly progressing Ichor portfolio company, Lento Bio represents the successful model that we want to build upon here in Syracuse.”
By joining Ichor’s new biotech incubator facility, Lento Bio will have access to even more state-of-the-art resources and a direct connection to a supportive ecosystem. This will help accelerate its mission to bring its preclinical-stage presbyopia eyedrop to the clinic as well as developing its platform repairing long-lived protein damage which drives diseases of aging.
“Syracuse is my hometown, and thus I’m so excited to be able to contribute to the growth and diversification of its economy as the biotech sector grows. Thus, moving our central operations from Potsdam to the new space in Syracuse is exciting,” says Lento Bio CEO Dr. Kris Barnes. “Biotech and rejuvenation medicine are a principal component of the technological future. With Syracuse as an academic hub and the new Ichor facility designed to meet the swath of early drug-development needs for companies like Lento Bio, I feel like this is an even greater position for Lento to help actualize that.”
The relocation to Syracuse is expected to provide indirect benefits for Lento Bio as well, including access to a talented workforce and proximity to key academic institutions. Syracuse’s growing biotech sector, coupled with its relatively affordable real estate compared to other U.S. biotech centers, makes it an attractive location for companies like Lento Bio.
The move to Syracuse is expected to be completed by the end of August, in line with Ichor Life Sciences’ timeline for occupying the new facility. Lento Bio looks forward to contributing to the growth and success of Syracuse’s biotech ecosystem and making a positive impact on the local economy.