Medical Devices

The 5,700-sf Advanced Multimodality Image Guided Operating Suite (AMIGO) represents a significant development in integrating imaging and surgery into one space. The Suite is located in a basement of Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Three diagnostic and procedure rooms allow imaging before, during, and after surgery with minimal disruption to the patient and the surgical procedure. This suite provides clinicians and researchers with new opportunities to improve surgical techniques and develop new clinical methodologies.

Merit Medical Systems began construction in October of 2011 on an 118,000-sf R&D facility in Pearland, Texas. The two-story building will house 220 employees. Based in South Jordan, Utah, Merit Medical Systems is a maker of proprietary disposable medical devices used in interventional and diagnostic procedures.

Medtronic opened its $56 million Medtronic Singapore Operations (MSO) facility in March of 2011. The facility will house manufacturing and production space for advanced cardiac medical devices. MSO will also serve as Medtronic’s Asia headquarters and distribution hub. Medtronic is based in Minneapolis.

Medical device manufacturer Irvine Scientific opened its Industrial Cell Culture media production facility in Tokyo in July of 2010. The 1,720-sm building will manufacture the company's cell culture media for production of biopharmaceuticals, vaccines, and monoclonal antibodies. Adhering to both ISO and FDA regulations, the facility will have the capacity to produce 600,000 kg of powdered media per year. Completion is expected in early 2011.

Agfa HealthCare began construction in March of 2010 on a research and development facility in Waterloo, Ontario. Located in the University of Waterloo’s Research and Technology Park, the facility will enable Agfa to develop advanced diagnostic imaging and healthcare management technologies. The facility is supported by a grant of $29.6 from the Ontario government. The project is being built by The Cora Group.

Thermo Fisher Scientific opened its new research and manufacturing facility in February of 2010 in Runcorn in the United Kingdom. The building is designated as a Center of Excellence for Thermo Fisher’s Anatomical Pathology operations and will house production and R&D space for cancer diagnostics and chromatography technologies.

German biomedical manufacturer Admedes Schuessler is planning to open a research and production facility in Livermore, Calif. An 18,050-sf building will be renovated to accommodate research, development, and manufacturing space for medical devices.

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare will break ground in early 2010 on a research and development facility in Auckland, New Zealand. The building will house laboratories, offices, manufacturing facilities, and warehouse space. Completion is expected in late 2012.

Grifols broke ground on a 72,000-sf plasma research and testing facility in San Marcos, Texas, in October of 2009. Located in the River Ridge Business Park, the biomedical facility is slated for completion in 2010. Additional warehouse and production facilities will reach completion in 2012 and 2013. Based in Spain, Grifols is involved in the research, development, and manufacturing of plasma therapies, diagnostic systems, and medical devices.

Bradshaw Medical will break ground in September of 2009 on a new 60,000-sf headquarters in Kenosha, Wisc. Completion is expected in June of 2010. Bradshaw Medical is a manufacturer of orthopedic and spinal surgical instruments.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will award approximately eight to twelve grants, totalling $120 million, in early 2010 to higher education institutions and nonprofits to build or expand their scientific research capabilities. The grants, part of the American Recovery and Reinvestments Act of 2009, will be competitive, with Letters of Intent due to NIST by June 25, and full proposals by August 10. A variety of facilities--labs, test and measurement facilities, research computing facilities, observatories—will be considered.

Medtronic will open the 150,000-sf Diabetes Therapy Management and Education Center in San Antonio in late summer of 2009. Medtronic will hire approximately 1,400 employees during a five-year period to staff the new facility. The LEED Silver certified building will enable the medical technology company to expand its diabetes products research and manufacturing operations.

Medical technology company Valeritas is engaged in an expansion of its laboratory facility in Shrewsbury, N.J. The expansion will add 2,000 sf of cleanroom and R&D space to Valeritas’ 21,000-sf facility. The construction manager for the project is Integrated Builders of Braintree, Mass. Valeritas, a manufacturer of drug delivery devices for diabetes treatment, is based is Parsippany, N.J.

Idexx Laboratories completed construction of a 200,000-sf office and manufacturing building in November of 2008. The project represents a major expansion of Idexx’s campus in Westbrook, Maine, which was acquired in 2006. Additionally, a $24 million renovation of existing buildings at the site began in fall of 2008 and is slated for completion in 2010. Idexx is a maker of animal health devices, tests, software, and diagnostic kits.

Biomet opened the $3.5 million Orthopaedic Skills Academy in Warsaw, Ind., in August of 2008. The 27,000-sf facility houses a 48-seat auditorium, a conference room, and two instructional laboratories. Supporting training for orthopaedic surgeons to correctly utilize Biomet products, the academy includes 12 cadaver surgery stations with TV monitors.