ImmunityBio CEO attended Tuesday’s Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency meeting virtually. P-J photo by Gregory Bacon

ImmunityBio Chief Executive Officer Richard Adcock acknowledges the frustration with how long it’s taken getting the Dunkirk plant up and running.

At the same time, he states that he is committed to seeing it become a drug manufacturing plant that will eventually hire hundreds of people.

On Tuesday, Adcock met virtually with members of the Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency during its monthly board meeting. He was in attendance to get the lease for the plant at 3805 Lake Shore Drive East modified, just as the state has done.

ImmunityBio had taken over the original lease by Athenex, which had promised back in 2016 to spend $1.5 billion over 10 years, hiring 450 employees, with 300 of them to be hired in the first two and half years.

That never happened and Athenex went bankrupt in 2023.

ImmunityBio had been operating under the same lease as Athenex and was seeking to have that lease modified.

Adcock said they’re committed to making the plant succeed.

“We’re probably over $100 million in cash while we sit here right now, so it’s not a lack of belief in the area and/or this project up to now and you can see, we’re putting tens of millions and hundreds of millions more into this. It’s something that we absolutely stand with (and) stand behind,” he said.

Adcock said on Monday the new head of Human Resources will begin for the Dunkirk location, working there in person.

“They’ve already got 19 positions that they’ve identified that will be starting this quarter and next quarter,” he said.

According to Adcock, the original contractor didn’t finish part of the plant because of Athenex’s bankruptcy so there has been some work on the plant that needed to be done first.

The next step will be hiring engineers and scientists.

“These are going to be people with people with Masters and PhD-level positions,” he said.

He requested the county help him inform new hires who relocate here about the local area. County IDA Chief Executive Officer Mark Geise said the county has a Live CHQ campaign which will work well, explaining different opportunities in the county.

Other hires ImmunityBio is planning on includes cleaners, security, finance and more.

Once the building is completed and the equipment is installed, Adcock said they need to get everything certified.

“In manufacturing of drug products, it’s not just us getting it ready and running, it’s then also bringing in the FDA (Federal Drug Administration), bringing in the state, bringing in everybody else that regulates it to make sure they’ll certify it as well,” he said.

Once it’s certified, Adcock said they can do the first engineering run and then the first manufacturing run.

“It’s a long set of processes that you have to go through,” he said.

In the revised lease agreement, they must have at least 25 full-time employees by the end of the year. By the end of 2027 they must have 45 employees. By the end of 2028 they must have 100 employees. By the end of 2029 they must have 150 employees. By the end of 2030, they must have 350 employees. By the end of 2031 they must have 400 employees. By the end of 2032 they must have 450 employees.

During the IDA meeting, Chairman Gary Henry asked who will keep Immunity Bio accountable for meeting its goals.

Geise said that will be done by both the IDA and the state.

During the vote, IDA board member Kevin Muldowney said he is looking forward to seeing Immunity Bio meet its goals.

“I was there in ’16 when they announced this at Dunkirk High School. It was supposed to be a game changer for the community. I still believe that …. It’s going to be great for Dunkirk, Fredonia and Chautauqua County,” he said.

The county IDA unanimously approved the changes to the lease.