LaFayette, N.Y. – Ichor Life Sciences, a premium pre-clinical contract research organization offering services in discovery through pharmacology, announces that portfolio company Auctus Biologics has been awarded a Phase I National Science Foundation Small Business Innovation Research grant (award # 2129469) for $228,697.00. The grant will fund development of a new optical biosensor chip technology for use in the biophysical technique of Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR).

The gold standard for studying biomolecular interactions in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, SPR is an essential method for characterizing the interactions between small molecule drugs and their protein targets. The proprietary chip technology created by Auctus Biologics will overcome key barriers in current state-of-the-art SPR technology, streamlining workflows, and accelerating the pace of drug screening campaigns.

Auctus Biologics is a biotechnology company that develops antibody mimetics for therapeutic and diagnostic applications.

“In keeping with Ichor’s core mission of pushing the R&D envelope, Auctus Biologics will utilize this NSF grant to develop new tools that both enhance its service offerings and extend the boundaries of current biophysics and structural biology research,” said Dr. Kelsey Moody, Ph.D., MBA, CEO,

Ichor Life Sciences. “We’re honored to receive this NSF funding and excited about the opportunity to improve drug discovery as a result of this research project.”