Palm Harbor building sold to life science entrepreneurs for $4.2 million

PALM HARBOR, Fla. - Dec. 10, 2023 - PRLog -- AlloCyte, LLC, has purchased a 24,560-square-foot, two-story industrial property at 3816 DeSoto Blvd. in northern Pinellas County's Palm Harbor for $4.2 million. The purchase will bring two life sciences companies to the Tampa Bay area – AlloCyte, which plans to be a worldwide manufacturer of the liquids that preserve organs for transplantation, and 34 Lives, PBC, which rescues unused kidneys for transplantation.

AlloCyte is currently moving into the Palm Harbor property's first floor. 34 Lives will move into the second floor when the current tenant, Integer, fully vacates to relocate to another location in April.

Heidi Tuttle-Beisner, broker-owner at Commercial Asset Partners (CAP) Realty, represented the seller, P&B Partnership, in the real estate transaction. The selling entity is affiliated with Thomas Osypka, former owner of medical device manufacturer Oscor, which was headquartered at the property for 34 years before being purchased by Integer in 2021. Jessica Gould of Realty Trust Group represented the buyer.

"We've experienced a significant increase of interest in moving to this area from medical users, ranging from R&D to manufacturing," Tuttle-Beisner said. "The area's business-friendly atmosphere, excellent quality of life and significant medical initiatives, such as the 775-acre Moffitt Cancer Center project and the expansion of Tampa General Hospital, consistently draw life sciences companies. These companies recognize the appeal of Pinellas and Pasco counties, the broader Tampa Bay area and Florida as a whole."

34 Lives works to develop innovative technology and services that result in the rescue of thousands of unused kidneys each year, saving lives that would otherwise be lost on the transplantation waitlist. Because of a worldwide shortage in transplant preservation solutions that began during the COVID-19 pandemic, the 34 Lives leadership and investors determined it in their best interest to control their own supply chain and launched AlloCyte last year to produce the organ preservation liquids that 34 Lives – and all other transplant organizations – need.

"The property in Palm Harbor was a good fit for us because the first-floor manufacturing capabilities for AlloCyte were exactly what we needed, as were the 'clean rooms' upstairs for 34 Lives, which essentially are built like operating rooms, with certain air filtration and other requirements for sanitation," Chris Jaynes, CEO of 34 Lives, said. "This is an ideal location for 34 Lives because of the number of transplant hospitals in Florida, including The Miami Transplant Institute, the nation's largest kidney transplant facility.