Kinetic Concepts, Inc., (KCI) is a global

corporation A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and ...

that produces medical technology related to wounds and

wound healing Wound healing refers to a living organism's replacement of destroyed or damaged tissue by newly produced tissue. In undamaged skin, the epidermis (surface, epithelial layer) and dermis (deeper, connective layer) form a protective barrier again ...

. KCI produced the first product developed specifically for

negative pressure wound therapy Negative-pressure wound therapy (NPWT), also known as a vacuum assisted closure (VAC), is a therapeutic technique using a suction pump, tubing and a dressing to remove excess exudate and promote healing in acute or chronic wounds and second- ...

. In 2013, the company employed 5,000 people and marketed its products in more than 25 countries. Its headquarters is in

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. KCI, LifeCell and Systagenix operated under the Acelity brand. In October 2019, Acelity and its KCI subsidiaries worldwide were acquired by 3M for $6.7 billion, including assumption of debt and other adjustments.

Operations

KCI is composed of three business units: Active Healing Solutions, LifeCell and Therapeutic Support Systems, that operate in the wound care,

regenerative medicine Regenerative medicine deals with the "process of replacing, engineering or regenerating human or animal cells, tissues or organs to restore or establish normal function". This field holds the promise of engineering damaged tissues and organs by st ...

and therapeutic support systems markets. The largest of these business units is dedicated to wound care primarily

for the treatment of traumatic wounds, pressure ulcers, chronic wounds and diabetic ulcers but also assistance with surgery. The therapeutic support systems developed and supplied by KCI are largely for the treatment and prevention of complications associated with patient immobility. These include support surfaces for hospital beds and home patients designed to address

pulmonary The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in humans and most other animals, including some snails and a small number of fish. In mammals and most other vertebrates, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of ...

complications in immobile patients. KCI also develops specialty beds for use in hospitals or in long-term care facilities. KCI expanded into the

market in 2008. Through

subsidiary company A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a sam ...

LifeCell Corporation, KCI develops and supplies tissue-based products. These include tissue-based treatments used in surgical procedures to repair

soft-tissue Soft tissue is all the tissue in the body that is not hardened by the processes of ossification or calcification such as bones and teeth. Soft tissue connects, surrounds or supports internal organs and bones, and includes muscle, tendons, ligam ...

Corporate history

KCI was founded in 1976 in

, by James R. Leininger, then an emergency room physician who wanted to help prevent the pulmonary complications associated with immobility. Over time, the company developed or acquired a line of therapeutic specialty beds, introducing a specialty bed for acute care patients with pulmonary complications. Initially KCI's product development focused on therapeutic beds and surfaces then expanded to introduce the first commercial

products in the mid-1990s. KCI acquired regenerative medicine company, LifeCell, in 2008 in a non-hostile transaction for 1.7 billion. In January 2012, LifeCell was made a sister company to KCI. In 2013, LifeCell and KCI recombined into one company.

Financial information

From the founding of the company in 1976 to 1988, the revenue of KCI grew to 153.2 million. The growth in revenue allowed KCI to go public and trade on the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed ...

(NYSE) in 1988. KCI stock was traded on the NYSE until 1997, when the company went private. In February 2004, KCI became a publicly listed company for the second time and was listed on the NYSE under the ticker symbol KCI. By the late 2000s, the company's revenue was over $1 billion and reported an increase of 17 percent in 2007 to $1.61 billion. Revenue for 2008 was $1.88 billion, increasing to $1.99 billion in 2009 and in 2010 increased to $2.02 billion. On November 4, 2011, the company went private again at a price of $68.50 per share.

Product lines

* V.A.C. systems used for negative pressure wound therapy.

References

External links