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Evergreen Bio Incubator inks first company

A group of economic development and industry leaders received a $500,000 grant in 2022 from the state to form a coalition that will support bioscience business and job growth in the University District, shown here in 2016. (Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review)
By Thomas Clouse tomc@spokesman.com(509) 459-5495

Spokane’s Evergreen Bio Incubator has landed its first company, its director announced this week.

The Evergreen Bio Incubator started a decade ago as a collaboration between economic development and industry leaders when they launched an initiative to drive medical education, research and bioindustry growth in Spokane.

This week, biotech startup Glyciome, LLC, became the first company to move into the new incubator, which is located at 10220 N. Nevada St., Suite 300. Officials also announced in a news release that Rotary Club of Spokane #21 has awarded Evergreen Bio with a community impact grant valued at about $2,000.

“These commitments validate what we’ve believed all along,” Michaele Armstrong, executive director of Evergreen Bio, said in the release. “Collaboration is our force multiplier. Glyciome’s trust and Rotary’s investment show how regional partnerships can turn constrained resources into powerful outcomes that no single organization could achieve alone.”

Evergreen Bio came about from a project called Vision 2030, which was spearheaded by Greater Spokane Incorporated, the region’s chamber of commerce and economic development agency. It called for expanded medical education, medical sciences research, bioscience business development and community health care.

GSI projected health care and bioscience industry growth would be a significant economic driver for Spokane, generating $1.7 billion annually and creating more than 9,000 jobs by 2030.

As for the new company, Glyciome has developed treatments for genital infections and inflammation that can contribute to cancers of the cervix, uterus, ovaries, prostate and penis, according to its website. It originally was founded in Valleyford by GD Clifton and JE Ellington.

“The incubator offers not only space, but a community and the global reach needed to accelerate commercialization,” Ellington said in the release. “This is why we chose Evergreen Bio.”

Glyciome retains a mailing address in Valleyford, but it moved into the Evergreen Bio space on August 1, Armstrong said.

  • In the release, Julie Kelsey, president of Rotary Club of Spokane 21, said the grant was about investing in Spokane’s future.

“By supporting Evergreen Bio, we’re helping create a hub where life science innovation can thrive and positively impact our community,” Kelsey said in the release.

Evergreen Bioscience aims to make the region a leader in local supply-chain sourcing for pharmaceutical and medical device contract companies, keeping money in the area economy in the process .

In 2022, the Washington state Department of Commerce awarded a $500,000 grant to Evergreen Bioscience to build a “cluster” in the Spokane region to, among other things, drive innovation.

The current Evergreen Bio space has about 5,000 square feet. Glyciome now occupies about 1,500 square feet of that space.

“We are accepting applications from startup companies that would like to locate here,” Armstrong said.