HiArc, in Merrimack, New Hampshire, was founded in 1980 as KMC Systems and considers itself New Hampshire’s first life sciences company. It works as a contract design and manufacturing organization (CDMO) for some of the world’s largest healthcare diagnostic suppliers, including more than 10 Fortune 500 companies.
HiArc President Nate Doemling says his team estimates that devices developed by the company have impacted some 300 million to 400 million patients. It has completed more than 900 projects for its clients and has helped file more than 200 patents on behalf of their clients.
As part of HiArc’s rebranding last year, it rebuilt its market position around the idea of “engineered around you.” While other CDMOs might insist on standardized designs, HiArc is flexible around their clients’ needs and vision. Clients retain all intellectual property and market the devices under their own brands, which is why most people never connect HiArc to its completed projects.
“By working with us, typically we're able to improve our clients’ time to market by up to a year in some cases,” Doemling said.This is where HiArc's business model shines as it centers around helping their clients commercialize complex technologies faster than they could on their own.
“In every program, we're able to accelerate time to market," says Jon Smith, vice president of business development. "One of the reasons our clients keep coming back is our expertise.”
That expertise is especially valuable because of the complex systems HiArc helps create.
“We specialize in a broad range of medtech devices, but over the last 46 years, we've primarily specialized in In Vitro Diagnostics (IVD),” Doemling says. These markets include molecular diagnostics, sample preparation and handling systems, cell therapy and hematology, microbiology, and research-use-only platforms.
HiArc has about 250 employees, the majority of whom are degreed engineers with expertise in precision automation, mechanics, electronics, thermal controls and software integration.
“We have all disciplines of engineering under one roof — mechanical, electrical, robotics, fluidics, optics — here in Merrimack,” Doemling says.
HiArc’s extensive expertise of its engineers is what helps get client devices to market faster.
Speed and scalability were critical when a HiArc-built device entered the market to run polymerase chain reaction tests just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. The company had expected to build about 1,000 to 2,000 devices over 10 to 20 years. However, with the demand for testing fueled by the pandemic, HiArc ultimately manufactured 1,600 in just two years. Senior leadership joined engineers on the floor to help assemble the devices to meet the accelerated need. It estimates that at peak deployment, those systems were processing approximately 900,000 COVID tests every day.
As HiArc looks to the future, a new facility is in sight. At the start of 2027, it plans to relocate from Merrimack to Nashua. It will allow the company to update its equipment and facilities without halting work at its Merrimack facility in the interim.
“It'll be purpose-built and purpose-designed around both the client and employee experience, and we're really excited about those two things coming together in Nashua,” Doemling said.
This new location offers a shorter commute for many of the employees and the talent pool in Massachusetts.
HiArc joins the growing number of NHLS members who want to support the emergence and growth of the life sciences industry in New Hampshire.
“I happen to think that New Hampshire is a great state to be in — the quality of life is very good, taxes are competitive from a business perspective,” Doemling says. “I very much support the effort of NHLS in growing this network and helping to collaborate to boost the entire industry here in New Hampshire, like what we saw in the Bay Area with semiconductors and electronics really over the last 30 years.”
HiArc is a company that helped establish New Hampshire's life sciences sector, and it continues to play a pivotal role in future growth: one innovative device and one customer success at a time.