MicroPort Scientific Corp., a Chinese medical device company with sizeable international operations that’s looking to vastly expand its presence in North America, has bought an office complex in Irvine with plans to establish its U.S. base in the city.
The Shanghai-based company—whose business units make a host of products largely related to orthopedics and cardiovascular health, including heart stents, pacemakers, and implantable cardiac defibrillators—recently closed on the purchase of two buildings at the Alton Corporate Plaza, an office complex located a few blocks from the headquarters of Irvine’s Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (NYSE: EW).
It paid close to $40 million for the buildings at 16800 and 16802 Aston St., according to property records.
The deal works out to a price around $350 per square foot for the two offices, which total a bit more than 100,000 square feet.
The airport-area property was sold by an affiliate of Irvine’s TA Partners, property records indicate.
The buyer, which has operations across the globe and counts about 30 portfolio companies under its corporate umbrella, said it plans to establish its newly unveiled MicroPort Scientific America division in the city.
$200M Investment, Jobs
The deal is expected to add to Irvine’s growing role as a key hub for the medical device industry.
MicroPort will “continue to invest $200 million in Southern California in the next five years, and create around 500 high-quality jobs,” according to Jonathan Chen, the chief international business officer for the company.
Shares of MicroPort are listed on Hong Kong’s stock market; the company is currently valued around $8 billion. It’s also spun off a few businesses into their own publicly traded companies that are traded on the Hong Kong Exchange.
The company has over 9,000 employees globally, and reports serving over 10,000 hospitals in more than 80 countries.
MicroPort has existing domestic R&D; and manufacturing centers in Boston and Memphis, Tenn.
Spireon Relocation
A mix of office, research, and manufacturing jobs are expected to be located at the Irvine base, though a ramp up in hiring could be several months away, once the new base is ready for operation.
The only local position the company is currently advertising for is a facility manager at the Irvine spot, according to MicroPort’s LinkedIn page.
The company had been operating out of a smaller, leased location elsewhere in the city.
One of the buildings that MicroPort bought has been used by Spireon, a vehicle tracking technology firm, for its headquarters.
Spireon is expected to move early next year; it hasn’t disclosed its new location yet.
Innovation, Manufacturing
MicroPort said in a statement that its Southern California hub will hold both an “Innovation Center and Intelligent Manufacturing Base.”
The company said “multiple business units will set up their North America branches [in Irvine] to actively develop local business with the help of local resources.”
On the innovation front, the company said it aims “to support activities from generating new pharmaceutical concepts to achieving commercialization and economy of scale.”
On the manufacturing side of business, MicroPort points to its coronary stent system, called Firehawk Liberty, as a product that could be made in the area.
MicroPort is aiming to get mass production for that product up and running at its local facilities in about two years, it said.
The company reports that its coronary stent systems are expected to exceed 1.2 million units within this year, giving it a top 2 position for global market share.
Heart valve giant Edwards, long OC’s top medical device maker (see story, page 12), and Minneapolis-based Medtronic, which also has operations in the area, offer competing products.
