The Gavin Herbert Eye Institute celebrated a big milestone as it moves closer to its scheduled opening next May.
Officials and supporters had a first-phase topping-out ceremony at the end of July for the eye treatment and research institute, which is on the University of California, Irvine’s campus. UCI has raised $29 million to build the first phase of the institute and equip two of its four floors.
About $8 million is still needed to complete and equip the 70,000-square-foot institute.
UCI donated the land on Bison Avenue for the institute.
Roger Steinert, the institute’s director and UCI ophthalmology professor, said no state money is being used for building and equipment costs in a 2009 interview.
“We must raise 100% of the money from philanthropy,” Steinert said.
A lead gift came from Gavin Herbert, chairman emeritus of Irvine eye drug maker Allergan Inc., and his mother, Josephine Gleis.
Others donors included Abbott Medical Optics in Santa Ana; Allergan Foundation, George and Julia Argyros, the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation, James and Esther Cavanaugh, and venture capitalist William Link and his wife, Marsha.
James Mazzo, who will be stepping down as president of Abbott Medical, and his wife, Kelly, are also big supporters of the Herbert institute.
Mazzo has said Orange County has “the best ophthalmologists in the world right here” and needs to have a top eye institute.
Features include a Lasik refractive surgery center, an oculofacial plastic surgery center and more than 1,500 square feet of education and conference space. It also has an eye clinic.
Beckman Sale
Beckman Coulter Inc., a Brea-based maker of medical testing equipment and supplies, recently sold its Morrisville, N.C., genomics service division office to Integrated Laboratory Systems Inc., which is also in Morrisville.
Financial terms weren’t disclosed.
Thomas Goldsworthy, ILS’ chief executive, told the Triangle Business Journal that it was looking for a deal of similar size and complemented its business.
ILS is a contract research organization. Its scientists use human DNA to do laboratory testing that determines how effective a drug or treatment will be on an individual.
ILS has 170 workers and generates more than $20 million in annual revenue. Buying the former Morrisville office of Beckman brought the company added expertise in the private sector, according to a report in the Triangle Business Journal.
Beckman is now a division of Washington, D.C.-based conglomerate Danaher Corp. Danaher bought Beckman for $6.8 billion in 2011.
Altura Raises $6M
San Clemente device maker Altura Medical Inc. recently raised $6 million in a round of venture capital financing.
Altura disclosed the money in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The company did not disclose the investor’s identity, the transaction round or what it will use the proceeds for.
It is developing devices to treat abdominal aortic aneurysms, which are ballooning blood vessels near the heart. Altura estimates that 1.5 million Americans suffer from abdominal aortic aneurysms and 250,000 new cases are diagnosed annually.
Altura has touted its device as an alternative to complex surgeries for repairing abdominal aortic aneurysms.
It raised $20 million back in 2010 in a funding that included New Leaf Venture Partners of Menlo Park and New York; Advanced Technology Ventures of Palo Alto and Waltham, Mass.; and SV Life Sciences, which has offices in San Francisco, Boston and London.
Auxilio Contract
Mission Viejo-based Auxilio Inc. said Johns Hopkins Health System expanded its contract to include Suburban Hospital Healthcare System in Montgomery County, Md.
Auxilio helps hospitals and healthcare providers cut their dependence on paper records. Johns Hopkins originally signed its contract with Auxilio in 2010. Suburban, which has 238 beds, and affiliated care facilities will be integrated into the contract.
Auxilio recently secured a five-year, $35 million contract with the Bon Secours Health System of Marriottsville, Md., to provide services.
Bits and Pieces
St. Joseph Hospital in Orange has enrolled the first patient for the Orange County and Los Angeles regions in a clinical trial for high blood pressure. … Medtronic Inc., which has some 700 Orange County workers, is testing a renal denervation procedure designed to eliminate treatment-resistant hypertension. … Tustin-based Epinex Diagnostics Inc. exhibited at the American Association of Clinical Chemistry’s annual meeting in Los Angeles.
