Irvine heart valve maker Edwards Lifesci-ences Corp. is the largest employer in the local medical device industry after adding nearly 200 employees, according to this week’s Business Journal list.
Overall, the list shows that the 27 largest medical device makers either headquartered here or with significant operations here grew their employment by 5.4% during the past 12 months.
In all, the companies, which make products ranging from replacement eye lenses to heart valves, employ 13,806 people in the county.
A year earlier, OC’s largest medical device companies added 356 workers to their ranks for a 3% gain to 12,984 workers.
On this year’s list, 12 companies added workers, five dropped employees, two were flat and seven were estimates.
Edwards posted a 10% job gain to 2,091 OC workers, overtaking perennial leader Beckman Coulter Inc., a maker of medical testing instruments and supplies that’s in the midst of moving from its longtime Fullerton home base to nearby Brea.
Edwards, which has been a steady performer amid the wider economic downturn, is conducting a large clinical trial of its less-invasive Sapien heart valve, which is inserted via a catheter, with an eye toward Food and Drug Administration clearance in 2011. The company’s investors have high hopes for Sapien, which is seen as a potential major advance in heart valves.
Edwards isn’t just looking at expanding locally; the Utah state government recently offered it a $12 million tax break as an incentive to expand its operations there. Edwards has a plant in Midvale, Utah, that it has outgrown. The company hasn’t yet made a decision regarding Utah, according to Edwards.
Beckman, B. Braun
Meanwhile, No. 2 Beckman’s OC workforce fell 2% to 2,005 workers. Chief Executive Scott Garrett has said that attrition was part of its plan to have zero overhead growth in 2009.
Beckman, which makes medical testing in-struments and supplies, just completed an $800 million deal for Olympus Corp.’s lab-based diagnostic business in a bid to expand its market share in Europe.
Beckman was followed by B. Braun Medical Inc. in Irvine, which came in at No. 3 with an unchanged worker count of 1,314. Earlier this year, officials of B. Braun said they were planning to grow local employment by 20% to 25%, or about 300 jobs, during the next six years.
B. Braun, a unit of German device maker B. Braun Melsungen AG, locally makes devices such as needle-free intravenous equipment connectors and drug delivery systems. It also has a Westminster warehouse where it houses finished products.
Applied Medical Resources Corp., a Rancho Santa Margarita-based maker of devices used in heart, vascular and less-invasive surgeries, stayed at the No. 4 slot even after its OC employment grew 22% to 1,037 workers.
Applied Medical, a privately held company with about $100 million in estimated yearly revenue, said it added workers across the company, including in production and research and development.
The top five device makers are rounded out by Alcon Laboratories’ research unit in Irvine. Alcon Research Ltd.’s local employee count grew 4.5% to 785 workers.
Alcon, which makes eye surgery devices in OC, is expected to have a new owner soon. Switzerland’s Novartis SA, which bought 25% of Alcon from fellow Swiss company Nestlé SA in 2008, is likely to exercise its rights to buy Nestlé’s remaining 52% share in Alcon next year.
Tustin’s Toshiba America Medical Systems Inc. came in at No. 6 on the medical device list, with a 16% jump to 697 workers. Toshiba, a maker of medical scanning equipment, is part of Japan’s Toshiba Corp.
Masimo Corp., an Irvine maker of patient monitoring devices, leapfrogged three spots to No. 7 on the list, adding 259 new jobs for a 62% gain. Overall, Masimo employs 679 workers in the county.
The company said in a statement that the job growth came from hires in its sales and engineering departments. Masimo makes devices that measure oxygen and other substances in patients’ blood.
Acquisition Growth
No. 8 Medtronic Heart Valves in Santa Ana reported 650 workers, an 18% gain from a year earlier. Medtronic, which is based in suburban Minneapolis, was busy earlier this year buying Irvine-based CoreValve Inc., a rival to Edwards in the less-invasive heart valve arena, for $700 million.
Sybron Dental Specialties Inc., an Orange maker of dental products, came in at No. 9 on the list with 640 local workers. Sybron (see story, page 1) makes a variety of products ranging from root canal supplies to braces. It is a subsidiary of Danaher Corp.
Abbott Medical Optics Inc., a Santa Ana-based unit of Chicago’s Abbott Laboratories, saw its local workforce fall 15.5% to 533 workers, sending it down four spots to No. 10 on the list.
Earlier this year, Abbott officials had said they didn’t expect major job cuts stemming from its $2.8 billion buy of Advanced Medical Optics Inc., although the deal did create some overlapping positions.
Abbott Medical makes devices used in cataract surgery, lasers for vision correction and contact lens care solutions.
The largest job gain on the list by percentage was posted by No. 12 MicroVention Inc., a Tustin maker of catheter-based devices to treat cerebral aneurysms, or a ballooning of blood vessels in the brain.
MicroVention said its local workforce grew 150% to 325 workers. A MicroVention spokeswoman didn’t return a call for comment.
On the other side of the ledger, Irvine dental device maker Biolase Technology Inc., the list’s No. 27 entry, reported a 38% local job decline to 98 workers. Biolase said in December that it would cut 20% of its total U.S. workforce to save money.
