Two divisions of Terumo Corp. are quietly growing on the west side of Ann Arbor, expanding personnel and space at their shared Scio Township campus.

Terumo Heart and Terumo Cardiovascular Systems are concluding a combined $3.6 million expansion of facilities.

Together, the medical device manufacturers -the area's largest biotech company - employ nearly 500 people.

"(Both) branches of Terumo have been expanding rapidly in Ann Arbor," said Barbara Schmid, director of corporate communications for Terumo CVS, in a recent article.

This fall, Terumo Heart moved into its own 50,000-square-foot building on the campus, adding 14,700 square feet to the facility.

The space lets employees work in the same location instead of being spread among different buildings on the campus.

It also expands manufacturing capacity at the facility, so that the company can do more direct work on its complex product, the DuraHeart device.

The DuraHeart , now in clinical trials, is a device that helps pump blood throughout the body for people with failing hearts who cannot receive a heart transplant. It's been available commercially in Europe since 2007, and since 2008 has been available in the U.S. as part of the trials.

Up to 140 patients will be a part of the trials, run out of 40 medical centers.

As the clinical trials grow and more patients are admitted into the program, more manufacturing capacity is needed - prompting the campus changes in Scio Township.

With the changes, Terumo also is shortening the timeline to make the product, and - by using fewer suppliers for specialty components - overseeing more of the results.

The potential for the DuraHeart is big for Terumo and for the region. But it also has the potential to help many of the 22 million people around the world who suffer from heart failure. About 5.7 million are in the U.S., with 670,000 new cases diagnosed each year.

Meanwhile, at Terumo CVS, the company's R&D operations were moved to Scio Township from California after the company received a tax incentive.

Terumo CVS develops, manufactures and distributes medical devices for both cardiac and vascular surgery.

Paula Gardner is Business Director at AnnArbor.com. She can be reached at paulagardner@annarbor.com or (734) 623-2586.

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