Description
Medtronic plc is an American medical device company based in Ireland for tax purposes. The company primarily operates in the United States. Medtronic has an operational and executive headquarters in Minneapolis, Minnesota in the US. In 2015, Medtronic acquired Irish–tax registered Covidien (a U.S. tax inversion to Ireland from 2007), in the largest U.S. corporate tax inversion in history, which enabled Medtronic to move its legal registration from the U.S. to Ireland. Medtronic operates in 140 countries and employs over 90,000 people.
History
Medtronic was founded in 1949 in Minneapolis by Earl Bakken and his brother-in-law, Palmer Hermundslie, as a medical equipment repair shop.
Through his repair business, Bakken came to know C. Walton Lillehei, a doctor of heart surgery at the University of Minnesota Medical School. The deficiencies of the artificial pacemakers of the day were made painfully obvious following a power outage over Halloween in 1957, which affected large sections of Minnesota and western Wisconsin. A pacemaker-dependent paediatric patient of Lillehei died because of the blackout. The next day, Lillehei spoke with Bakken about developing some form of battery-powered pacemaker. Bakken modified the design for a transistorized metronome and created the first battery-powered external pacemaker.
The company expanded through the 1950s, selling equipment built by other companies but also developing custom-made devices. Bakken built a small pacemaker that could be strapped to the body and powered by batteries. Work in the new field later produced an implantable pacemaker in 1960. The company built headquarters in the Minneapolis suburb of St. Anthony, Minnesota, in 1960 and the company moved to Fridley in the 1970s. Medtronic's main competitors in the cardiac rhythm field include Boston Scientific and St. Jude Medical.
In 1997, Medtronic opened a production site for implantable pacemakers and brain pacemakers in Tolochenaz, Switzerland. One in five pacemakers implanted globally today are made here. The site is also used as a european training centre for doctors. In 1998, Medtronic acquired Physio-Control for $538 million.
In 2014, Integra LifeSciences announced it was acquiring instrumentation lines from Medtronic for $60 million. The deal included Medtronic’s MicroFrance and Xomed manual ENT and laparoscopic surgical instruments, as well as a manufacturing facility in France.
In February 2016, the company announced that it would acquire Bellco from private equity firm Charme Capital Partners. In June, the company announced its acquisition of HeartWare International Inc. for $1.1 billion. In December 2017, Medtronic acquired Crospon in €38 million ($45 million). In September 2018, the company acquired Mazor Robotics for $1.64 billion ($58.50 per American Depository Share or $29.25 per ordinary share. In late November, Medtronic acquired Nutrino Health Ltd boosting the companies nutrition-related data services and analytics.
In May 2019, Medtronic announced it would acquire Titan Spine, a technology company focusing on titanium spine implants. Chief Executive Officer Omar Ishrak retired in April 2020 and stayed on as executive chairman and chairman of the board until December 2020. Ishrak was succeeded by senior executive Geoff Martha.
In January 2020, the company announced its intention to acquire Stimgenics, LLC and their primary therapy: differential target, multiplexed, spinal cord stimulation. In July, the company announced it would acquire Medicrea for €7.00 per share. In August, Medtronic announced it would acquire Companion Medical, who manufacture a smart insulin pen system, which connects to a diabetes management app. In September Medtronic acquired Avenu Medical for an undisclosed sum.
In February 2021, the company recalled its HeartWare Ventricular Assist Device. In June 2021, the controller ports were pulled from the market. On June 3, 2021, the FDA alerted physicians to stop new implants of the HVAD system due to "an increased risk of neurological adverse events and mortality associated with the internal pump."
In January 2022, the business announced it would acquire Affera, Inc.
