MP Biomedicals LLC, Milan Panic’s Irvine-based maker of medical testing and research products, has paid $3.9 million for a 121,589-square-foot building in Solon, Ohio.
The building in the Cleveland suburb is set to be a Midwestern regional headquarters for MP Biomedicals.
The company makes chemical reagents, cells and molecules used in research and medical testing.
Panic, MP Biomedicals’ founder and chief executive, said the building is centrally located within 500 miles of the universities and businesses the company sells to in the region.
“It’s very, very well located geographically for our business,” said Panic, who’s best known as founder of ICN Pharm-aceuticals Inc., now Costa Mesa-based Valeant Pharmaceuticals International.
MP Biomedicals is consolidating in Ohio, shifting operations from Carlsbad, Orangeburg, N.Y., and Aurora, Ohio.
“It’s a very first-class building, similar in caliber to ICN’s former building,” Panic said.
MP Biomedicals is on target to hit yearly sales “much higher” than an earlier projection of $48 million, Panic said.
“We are having fantastic help from the state of Ohio for creation of new jobs,” he said. “I think new jobs are going to be 50 to 75 in stages, maybe up to 100.”
MP Biomedicals now counts about 500 workers throughout the company.
Besides the building purchase, Panic said MP Biomedicals has made two acquisitions, buying assets of Genelabs Diagnostics Pte Ltd., a Singapore company, and Qbiogene, a company that had operations in Carlsbad, Montreal and France.
MP Biomedicals was created in 2003, when Panic bought what then was ICN Biomedicals for $15 million.
At the end of last year, Panic spent $4.5 million for a 37,700-square-foot building in Irvine to serve as a nerve center for his new ventures.
“We are declaring this the headquarters,” Panic said at that time.
Building From Scratch
Panic, who was ousted from ICN in 2002 by disgruntled shareholders, said he wants to build up MP Biomedicals from scratch, like he did with ICN more than 40 years ago.
“I started ICN with $200. I’m starting this company with $15 million. There’s a slight difference,” Panic said.
Valeant changed its name from ICN in late 2003 as part of a strategy by new management to get away from the legacy of Panic.
MP Biomedicals also has operations in Germany, Belgium, Russia, Australia and Japan.
Peter Castleton, a vice president of real estate services for Voit Commercial Brokerage LP who has a long-time business relationship with Panic, represented MP Biomedicals in the Ohio deal. Voit’s corporate services group is looking for properties in France for MP Biomedicals to expand there, Castleton said.
George Elliot of Staubach Co. represented Steelcase Inc., which sold the Ohio building to MP Biomedicals.
Celestra Hauserman, a Steelcase unit that makes luxury office and business furniture, previously occupied the building.
