Biosite Inc. is buying land from H. G. Fenton Company in Fenton Technology Park in the Miramar area of San Diego for a new corporate headquarters. The names of the buyer's and seller's representatives in the real estate transaction were not immediately available.``Plans for our new facility are aligned with our long-term growth expectations,'' says Kim Blickenstaff, Biosite president and chief executive officer. ``The new headquarters will provide us with up to 800,000 square feet of space, which should meet our needs for at least the next 10 years."

Construction will occur in phases, with an initial build-out of 200,000 sf, according to Blickenstaff. Biosite's operations are now spread over seven buildings in the Sorrento Valley area. ``Bringing all of our employees together into an organized campus will provide a better environment for our research development and manufacturing activities,'' says Blickenstaff.

Close of escrow is expected to occur by the end of the first quarter of 2003. The company expects the first phase of construction to be completed in 2004.

Biosite is researching and developing protein-based diagnostic tests that improve a physician's ability to diagnose debilitating and life-threatening diseases. Biosite's Triage rapid diagnostic tests are used in 50% of U.S. hospitals and in 40 international markets.