In one of its largest cancer treatment practice acquisitions to date, Duarte-based cancer research institution City of Hope has acquired Long Beach-based Pacific Shores Medical Group, which has seven cancer treatment centers in Los Angeles and Orange counties.

The acquisition was announced by the two organizations on Aug. 9, the same day the deal closed. Financial terms were not released.

Pacific Shores’ 14 physicians, 11 nurses and staff of 200 have become part of City of Hope’s cancer treatment network, bringing the latter’s total treatment centers to 35 throughout Southern California.

The acquisition is part of City of Hope’s long-term effort to bring its cancer treatment expertise directly into more communities throughout the region, instead of making patients come to its Duarte headquarters.

Over the years, City of Hope has acquired several cancer treatment practices, including Valley Radiotherapy Associates in 2018 and Wilshire Oncology Medical Group in late 2014.

Besides its Long Beach headquarters location, Pacific Shores has another cancer treatment center in Long Beach and centers in Glendale, Torrance, Huntington Beach, Irvine and Newport Beach.
 
“The goal is to bring our world-class (cancer treatment) expertise and quality of care to communities closer to where people live,” said Edward Kim, City of Hope’s chief physician for Orange County.

The acquisition boosts City of Hope’s presence in Orange County. In 2019, City of Hope announced it would build a $1 billion, 190,000-square-foot complex in Irvine’s Great Park on the grounds of the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station. The research center portion is slated to open next year and a hospital is expected to open in 2025.

In addition, City of Hope has a treatment center in Newport Beach that opened in 2020 and an administrative headquarters in Irvine.

Pacific Shores Medical Group was founded as a cancer treatment clinic in Long Beach in 1986. Its seven treatment centers now draw an average of 80,000 patient visits a year.

Founder and Chief Executive Simon Tchekmedyian noted that Pacific Shores patients will continue their relationships with their oncologists and other treatment providers. But they will now also gain access to City of Hope’s more than 1,000 researchers and specialists as well as clinical trials of new therapies.