St. Jude Medical, Inc. was an American global medical device company headquartered in
Little Canada,
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
, U.S., a suburb of
Saint Paul
Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
. The company had more than 20 principal operations and manufacturing facilities worldwide with products sold in more than 100 countries.
Its major markets include the United States, Europe, Latin America and Asia-Pacific. The company was named after
Jude the Apostle, the patron saint of lost causes.
[
St. Jude Medical was founded in 1976 and went public in 1977,] and the company has been listed in the Fortune 500
The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States corporations by total revenue for their respective fiscal years. The list includes publicly held companies, along ...
every year since 2010. The company was acquired by Abbott Laboratories
Abbott Laboratories is an American multinational medical devices and health care company with headquarters in Abbott Park, Illinois, United States. The company was founded by Chicago physician Wallace Calvin Abbott in 1888 to formulate known dr ...
in January 2017.
Michael T. Rousseau served as the company's president and chief executive officer from 2016 until its acquisition by Abbott.
History
Early history
St. Jude Medical was founded in 1976 to further develop bi-leaflet artificial heart valves, which were originally created in 1972 at the University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...
.[ St. Jude Medical's bi-leaflet valve was developed in large part by Dr. Demetre Nicoloff of the University of Minnesota and St. Jude Medical employee Don Hanson.][
Company founder Manny Villafana took St. Jude Medical public In February 1977.][ In October of that year, Dr. Nicoloff implanted the company's first artificial heart valve in a human patient.][ St. Jude Medical's new heart valve was coated in ]pyrolytic carbon
Pyrolytic carbon is a material similar to graphite, but with some covalent bonding between its graphene sheets as a result of imperfections in its production.
Pyrolytic carbon is man-made and is thought not to be found in nature.Ratner, Buddy D. ...
, which helped the valve prevent blood clotting.[
St. Jude Medical founding chief operating officer LaVerne Rees became chief executive officer in 1981. Shortly after his appointment as St. Jude Medical CEO, Rees directed the company to begin development of its own carbon coating.][ This decision led to a legal battle with CarboMedics, the sole supplier of carbon coating for the company's heart valves. The St. Jude Medical board reassigned Rees in late 1984 after the legal dispute continued.][
In 1985, Lawrence Lehmkuhl replaced Rees as president and CEO of St. Jude Medical.] Lehmkuhl had previously served as a division president at American Hospital Supply Corporation.[ Shortly after the appointment, St. Jude Medical settled its lawsuit with CarboMedics. The two companies also entered into an agreement that allowed St. Jude Medical to continue developing and producing limited quantities of its own carbon coating.][
In 1986, the first St. Jude Medical heart valve created with the company's own carbon coating technology was implanted into a human in Germany.][ Later that year, St. Jude Medical expanded into tissue heart valves with its acquisition of BioImplant.]
1990s
The company established its International Division, located in Brussels, Belgium
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
, in 1990. In April 1991, St. Jude Medical engaged in a joint venture with Hancock Jaffe Laboratories to create Heart Valve Company. The joint venture was formed to design and market new tissue heart valves for the American market.[ The first Heart Valve Company tissue heart valve was implanted in a human patient in 1994.][
In March 1993, Ronald Matricaria, a former president of Eli Lilly & Company's North American division, replaced Lehmkuhl as president and CEO of St. Jude Medical.] Lehmkuhl, who had presided over a ninefold increase in annual sales during his tenure as CEO, was named chairman of the St. Jude Medical board.[
Matricaria pushed for increasing diversification and expanded St. Jude Medical's acquisition hunt.][ In June 1994, the company announced that it would acquire the Pacesetter, Inc., the heart pacemaker division of ]Siemens AG
Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad.
The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', '' ...
, for $500 million. At the time of its acquisition by St. Jude Medical, Pacesetter was the second largest pacemaker manufacturer worldwide.[
In January 1996, St. Jude Medical further diversified its business when it acquired ]Minnetonka, Minnesota
Minnetonka ( ) is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. A western suburb of the Twin Cities, Minnetonka is located about west of downtown Minneapolis. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...
-based Daig Corporation for $425 million. Daig Corporation manufactured cardiac catheters for diagnostic and therapeutic uses.[ Also in January of that year, St. Jude Medical became the sole owner of Heart Valve Company when it purchased Hancock Jaffe Laboratories' 50% share in the joint venture.][ St. Jude Medical acquired Biocor Industria, a ]Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
ian manufacturer of tissue heart valves, in September 1996.
In 1997, St. Jude Medical acquired Ventritex, a Sunnyvale, California
Sunnyvale () is a city located in the Santa Clara Valley in northwest Santa Clara County in the U.S. state of California.
Sunnyvale lies along the historic El Camino Real and Highway 101 and is bordered by portions of San Jose to the nort ...
-based manufacturer of implantable cardioverter-defibrillator
An implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) or automated implantable cardioverter defibrillator (AICD) is a device implantable inside the body, able to perform defibrillation, and depending on the type, cardioversion and pacing of the ...
s for $352 million. At the time of its acquisition, Ventritex was the third-largest manufacturer of defibrillators.[
In February 1999, St. Jude Medical acquired Tyco International's Angio-Seal business.] Angio-Seal manufactured collagen-based plugs to close arterial holes made during arterial catheter procedures.[ Matricaria stepped down as St. Jude Medical CEO in March 1999.] He was replaced by Terry Shepherd, who had served as president of St. Jude Medical's heart valve business since 1994.[ Matricaria retained chairmanship of the St. Jude Medical board.][
]
2000s
In 2004, St. Jude Medical CEO Terry Shepherd retired. The company's stock had increased 277% during his tenure as CEO.[ St. Jude Medical COO Daniel Starks was appointed to replace Shepherd as the company's CEO.][ Starks had previously served as chief executive officer of Daig Corporation from 1986 to 1996, when St. Jude Medical acquired the company.][ Starks had been retained by St. Jude Medical and had served as company chief operating officer since 2001.][
In January 2005, St. Jude Medical acquired ]Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississip ...
-based Endocardial Solutions for $272 million. Endocardial Solutions manufactured diagnostic and therapeutic devices used to treat atrial fibrillation.[ Later that year the company acquired ]Plano, Texas
Plano ( ) is a city in Collin County, Texas, Collin County and Denton County, Texas, United States. It had a population of 285,494 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is a principal city of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex.
Hist ...
-based Advanced Neuromodulation Systems for $1.3 billion. At the time of its acquisition, Advanced Neuromodulation Systems was the second-largest supplier of devices that use electrotherapy to treat chronic pain and nerve disorders.[
In 2008, St. Jude Medical acquired MediGuide, an Israeli company that developed technology that uses tiny sensors to locate medical devices inside of a patient's body and increase the amount of information available to a doctor during medical procedures.
]
2010s
St. Jude Medical acquired AGA Medical for $1.3 billion in October 2010.[ AGA Medical was a ]Plymouth, Minnesota
Plymouth is a city in Hennepin County in the U.S. state of Minnesota. A suburb in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, the city is about west of downtown Minneapolis.The population was 81,026 at the 2020 census, making it Minnesota's ...
-based company that manufactured products that treat heart defects, including plugs and patches that fix holes and other cardiac defects. In 2010 the company also acquired LightLab Imaging, a company that developed optical coherence tomography
Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an imaging technique that uses low-coherence light to capture micrometer-resolution, two- and three-dimensional images from within optical scattering media (e.g., biological tissue). It is used for medical ...
technology that helps doctors treat heart disease.
In 2010, St. Jude Medical invested in an option to acquire CardioMEMS Inc., a medical device company that developed a wireless sensing and communication technology to monitor pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) in heart failure patients. CardioMEMS Inc. was acquired by St. Jude Medical in May 2014.
In August 2012, St. Jude Medical reorganized its business operations. The company folded its four product divisions into two operating units: the implantable electronic systems division; and the cardiovascular and ablation technologies division.[ The company also centralized other functions including the marketing, information technology and legal departments.][ St. Jude Medical's reorganization coincided with layoffs of about 5% of the company's global workforce.][
In 2013, St. Jude Medical acquired Endosense, a Swiss company that developed a catheter that measures the force a doctor places on a patient's heart wall during a ]catheter ablation
Catheter ablation is a procedure used to remove or terminate a faulty electrical pathway from sections of the heart of those who are prone to developing cardiac arrhythmias such as atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter and Wolff-Parkinson-White syn ...
procedure. St. Jude Medical paid $330 million for the company.[
In June 2013, St. Jude Medical entered into a series of agreements under which the company made a $40 million equity investment in Spinal Modulation, Inc. In May 2015, the company completed the acquisition of Spinal Modulation, developer of the Axium Neurostimulator System.
St. Jude Medical acquired Nanostim Inc., a ]Sunnyvale, California
Sunnyvale () is a city located in the Santa Clara Valley in northwest Santa Clara County in the U.S. state of California.
Sunnyvale lies along the historic El Camino Real and Highway 101 and is bordered by portions of San Jose to the nort ...
-based privately owned developer of miniaturized, leadless pacemakers, for $123.5 million in October 2013. The acquisition followed the approval of Nanostim's leadless pacemaker by the European Union.[ St. Jude Medical had secured the exclusive right to acquire Nanostim with a May 2011 investment in the start-up.
St. Jude Medical continued the restructuring it started in 2014 with its consolidation of the company's two operating units—the implantable electronic systems and the cardiovascular and ablation technologies units—into single research and development division.] The company also consolidated its worldwide manufacturing and supply chain operations into a second division.[
In July 2015, the company announced its intention to acquire heart-device manufacturer ]Thoratec Corporation
Thoratec Corporation is a United States-based company that develops, manufactures, and markets proprietary medical devices used for mechanical circulatory support for the treatment of heart-failure patients worldwide. It is a global leader in mech ...
for $3.4 billion. The acquisition was completed in October 2015.
In September 2015, St. Jude Medical announced that Daniel Starks would retire as chairman, president, and chief executive officer. On January 1, 2016, Michael T. Rousseau succeeded Starks as president, CEO and a member of the St. Jude Medical Board of Directors. Starks would remain executive chairman of the board of directors.[
In late April 2016, ]Abbott Laboratories
Abbott Laboratories is an American multinational medical devices and health care company with headquarters in Abbott Park, Illinois, United States. The company was founded by Chicago physician Wallace Calvin Abbott in 1888 to formulate known dr ...
announced it would acquire St. Jude Medical for $25 billion ($46.75 in cash & 0.8708 shares of Abbott common stock, equating to an approximate value of $85 per share).
On January 5, 2017, Abbott announced that it had completed its $25 billion acquisition of St. Jude Medical.
Acquisition history
The following is an illustration of the company's major mergers and acquisitions and historical predecessors (this is not a comprehensive list):
Operations
St. Jude Medical manufactures implantable cardioverter-defibrillator
An implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) or automated implantable cardioverter defibrillator (AICD) is a device implantable inside the body, able to perform defibrillation, and depending on the type, cardioversion and pacing of the ...
s (ICD); pacemakers
An artificial cardiac pacemaker (or artificial pacemaker, so as not to be confused with the natural cardiac pacemaker) or pacemaker is a Implant (medicine), medical device that generates electrical impulses delivered by electrodes to the Heart ...
; electrophysiology catheters; vascular closure products; cardiac mapping and visualization systems; optical coherence tomography
Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an imaging technique that uses low-coherence light to capture micrometer-resolution, two- and three-dimensional images from within optical scattering media (e.g., biological tissue). It is used for medical ...
(OCT) imaging systems; structural heart repair products; and neurostimulation devices.[ The company's operations are divided into two divisions: research and development; and manufacturing and supply chain.
St. Jude Medical also operates six technology centers located in ]Brussels, Belgium
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
, Beijing, China
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
, Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...
, Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...
, St. Paul, Minnesota and Sylmar, California. These centers offer training to physicians and allow them to simulate patient procedures using St. Jude Medical devices and technologies.
Products
The company also manufactures implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) and implanted cardiac resynchronization devices (CRT-Ds). The ICDs and CRT-Ds use quadripolar lead technology, which utilizes four electrodes on a single lead to pace multiple locations on the left side of the heart.
In 2013, the company began marketing the Ilumen Optis device, which is a diagnostic and assessment tool for patients with coronary artery disease
Coronary artery disease (CAD), also called coronary heart disease (CHD), ischemic heart disease (IHD), myocardial ischemia, or simply heart disease, involves the reduction of blood flow to the heart muscle due to build-up of atherosclerotic pla ...
. The device uses fractional flow reserve Fractional flow reserve (FFR) is a diagnostic technique used in coronary catheterization. FFR measures pressure differences across a coronary artery stenosis (narrowing, usually due to atherosclerosis) to determine the likelihood that the stenosis i ...
for measuring intra-arterial pressure and optical coherence tomography
Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an imaging technique that uses low-coherence light to capture micrometer-resolution, two- and three-dimensional images from within optical scattering media (e.g., biological tissue). It is used for medical ...
technology, which allows doctors to visually examine inside a patient's arteries.
Technology
MediGuide
St. Jude Medical produces MediGuide, a cardiac navigation and visualization technology that provides real-time fluoroscopic
Fluoroscopy () is an imaging technique that uses X-rays to obtain real-time moving images of the interior of an object. In its primary application of medical imaging, a fluoroscope () allows a physician to see the internal anatomy, structure and ...
images. The system also gives doctors the ability to locate devices that are implanted with MediGuide-enabled sensors.[ MediGuide reduces the duration of a patients' radiation exposure during cardiovascular procedures.][
]
Nanostim
In October 2013, the company acquired and began developing Nanostim leadless pacemakers. Nanostim technology consists of a miniaturized pacemaker implanted by a percutaneous, catheter-based procedure and placed into the heart. They are designed without the requirement for a lead, the thin wires inserted through a vein which connect the generator to the heart, or surgical pocket.
CardioMEMS
In June 2014, St. Jude Medical acquired and began developing CardioMEMS HF System, a wireless pulmonary artery pressure
A pulmonary artery is an artery in the pulmonary circulation that carries deoxygenated blood from the right side of the heart to the lungs. The largest pulmonary artery is the ''main pulmonary artery'' or ''pulmonary trunk'' from the heart, and ...
(PAP) monitoring technology. The wireless monitoring technology is used to assess cardiac performance via measurement of PAP and can be placed into the pulmonary artery.
Controversies
In December 2010, St. Jude Medical voluntarily stopped selling its Riata and Riata ST line of defibrillator leads over concerns that the leads were susceptible to insulation abrasion. The Food and Drug Administration
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respon ...
issued a recall of the leads in November 2011.[
In May 2013, Population Health Research Institute (PHRI), an academic health science research institute, conducted an independent analysis of data received from ongoing prospective registries that monitor the performance of the Durata and Riata ST ICD leads.] The results of the analysis found that the insulated leads had a 99.8 percent rate of freedom from all-cause insulation abrasion at 5 years.[
In January 2013, the Food and Drug Administration sent St. Jude Medical a warning letter detailing concerns regarding processes at the company's Sylmar, California facility.] The letter was sent following inspections of the plant in September and October 2012.[ The letter did not raise any safety concerns about St. Jude Medical products.][
That same month the company sent the Food and Drug Administration a 34-page letter detailing the company's efforts to correct problems found during the October inspection.
In 2014 a security vulnerability in St. Jude's pacemakers was reported by MedSec Holdings Ltd and confirmed by the FDA.]
References
External links
Official St. Jude Medical website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Jude Medical
2017 mergers and acquisitions
Health care companies based in Minnesota
Defunct companies based in Minnesota
Manufacturing companies based in Minnesota
Health care companies established in 1976
Manufacturing companies established in 1976
American companies established in 1976
Manufacturing companies disestablished in 2017
Ramsey County, Minnesota
1976 establishments in Minnesota
2017 disestablishments in Minnesota
Abbott Laboratories