Vikor Scientific, a biotech firm that provides targeted diagnostics to improve patient outcomes, is expanding and moving its headquarters into the 22 WestEdge building this spring.
The building is nearly complete and will include offices for both Vikor Scientific and members of senior management at MUSC Health, according to a news release.
Vikor, which is currently in offices in Suite 8 at 645 Meeting St. in downtown Charleston, provides medical professionals with diagnostic tools to improve treatments. The company takes a specimen and customizes molecular diagnostic panels to accurately detect and measure pathogens and antibiotic resistance within 12 to 24 hours.
“At Vikor’s new WestEdge location, together with South Carolina Research Authority, we’re creating a lab and office environment that people in Charleston have been craving for years,” Vikor co-founder Scotty Branch said. “Not only will our workforce feel good about going to work in a state-of-the-art facility looking out over a world-class city, we’re proud to invite scientists from across the country to visit our workspace.”
There are currently 53 employees at Vikor, and the company is hiring, the release said. The company’s WestEdge headquarters will include executive suites, sales and marketing teams, customer service, supply chain management and payer relations, plus clinicians, neuropharmacologists, medical specialists, researchers and scientists on multiple floors of the building.
Vikor co-founder and Medical University of South Carolina alumna Shea C. Harrelson said she is aware of potential collaboration opportunities with the neighborhood’s proximity to the medical district.
“We recently launched our research division, KOR Life Sciences, and we are interested in working with other scientists at MUSC to identify areas where synergy may be possible,” Harrelson said.
Michael Maher, CEO of The WestEdge Foundation Inc., said Vikor’s presence affirms the WestEdge vision. He said the neighborhood’s current and future living options, restaurants, retail, fitness, gathering and incubator spaces were developed with businesses like Vikor in mind.
The 22 WestEdge building will be the tallest multitenant office building on the peninsula and in the Charleston metro area when it opens, with 150,000 square feet of office and lab space, plus street-level space for cafes, restaurants and shopping, the release said.
Upon completion, the entire WestEdge project will encompass more than 3 million square feet of space on 60 acres along the Ashley River.