60 Years of Saving Lives – How the BIOTRONIK Mission Spread Globally

What began with one lifesaving mission between two students in early 1960s Berlin now spans the globe: BIOTRONIK is active in more than 100 countries. Whether it’s the opening of the original US office in 1979, Brazil in 1982, or the Asia-Pacific office in Singapore in 2012: Our 60 years of service to the healthcare community has seen us steadily ‘go global’ to help us fulfil our mission of saving and improving lives all over the world. As the years have gone by, BIOTRONIK history has been made not just from our Berlin Headquarters – but around the world; with our international teams having rich local histories of their own.

Innovating for the whole company – BIOTRONIK stateside

One such story is our history in the United States. Established in Lake Oswego, just outside of Portland, Oregon in 1979, BIOTRONIK’s American debut marked the beginning of the company’s wide expansion throughout the 1980s.

Given the number of BIOTRONIK pacemakers used in the US today, it’s hard to imagine that selling 120 pacemakers in a single month in 1986 warranted a party – but the BIOTRONIK US story is one of persistence, positivity, and ingenuity. Over the years, it’s paid off – with the American BIOTRONIK IMG_6770 campus growing from 1.5 buildings at the beginning to seven today. Still, the camaraderie has remained the same. Amy Culley, VP of Clinical Studies, still remembers the cinnamon buns team members would get for each other from a bakery across the parking lot – and the impromptu parties managers would plan for the days FDA approvals would come in. And Culley still wears her scarf featuring the fractal technology print the company gave to US employees in 2000, with men receiving special BIOTRONIK ties. 

BIOTRONIK Home Monitoring’s FDA approval in 2001 was a watershed moment for the company. The company was the first to introduce remote monitoring in the US and was inducted into an “FDA Hall of Fame” in 2001. Home Monitoring was particularly valued in the US – even before the Covid-19 pandemic – and BIOTRONIK has helped establish remote monitoring systems as a standard of care stateside. It’s now seen as essential by the American cardiac rhythm management (CRM) industry.

Over the years, the US team has used Home Monitoring’s success to drive further innovations in the field. This year, BIOTRONIK adapted Home Monitoring’s technology to debut the company’s new neuromodulation technology, which allows for faster and more accurate adjustments to help patients with chronic intractable pain. The US market is now the first to benefit from BIOTRONIK Neuro’s unique technology. 

More than forty years of uninterrupted service – BIOTRONIK in Brazil

Just three years after making its first breakthrough in the US, BIOTRONIK looked further south and opened its Brazil office in Sao Paulo – where it remains today.

Maintaining close contacts already with many Brazilian cardiac surgeons at international cardiology congresses, BIOTRONIK leaders were impressed with the country’s pioneering attitude to cardiac surgery, and its potential for growth in healthcare. Brazil was to be the main office through which all BIOTRONIK’s Latin American operations would be coordinated from.

During the challenging economic circumstances in the 1990s, BIOTRONIK maintained its connection to Brazil – even donating pacemakers to the public health system to support critical patients during these times. We believe our strong presence in Brazil is due to the many years of BIOTRONIK Brazil’s history.

“BIOTRONIK never left Brazil. It remained firm in its commitment to promote the health and well-being of Brazilian patients, even in dire circumstances,” says Roberto Alvarenga, Regional Vice President for Latin America at BIOTRONIK.

BIOTRONIK in Latin America’s steady work over the last forty years has also paid off when it comes to attracting the best talent, earning certificates from “Great Place to Work” in both the Brazil office in 2022 and the Argentina office in 2023.

Pushing to the Future – BIOTRONIK’s mission in Asia-Pacific

Compared to BIOTRONIK’s US and Latin American presences, BIOTRONIK Asia-Pacific is relatively new but having no less impact. BIOTRONIK is excited about its future in the region, especially with the rapid pace of the growth in the region, and its rapidly changing markets and societies.

Starting out as a small player in the region in the 1990s, BIOTRONIK’s Asia Pacific operations began first by setting up a direct presence in Australia in 1999. It didn’t take long for the company’s reputation in the region to grow quickly, with investing in rapid expansion in the region in the early 2000s, opening up offices in China, India, Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

The company’s investment in the region paid off – rapidly gaining market share and reaching an important milestone in 2012, with the opening of the Asia Pacific headquarters in Singapore. The new HQ allowed BIOTRONIK to further demonstrate its commitment to the region, helping to which lay the foundation for direct presences in Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand throughout the 2010s.

“Moving from being a relative unknown in this region to being a respected provider of life-saving devices is only possible through a committed and dedicated team,” says Gunnar Wochnowski, Regional Vice President Asia Pacific at BIOTRONIK. “Their drive and passion not only helped us to expand in the region but even becoming market leader in some markets, which demonstrates the loyalty of our customer towards our brand and products.”

In 2016, the BIOTRONIK would reach another important milestone – not just for the region, but for the whole company – when it began manufacturing some of its products in Singapore. It marked the fourth time in 60 years the company opened a new manufacturing center. The Singapore site now engages in production alongside BIOTRONIK sites in Germany, Switzerland, and the US.

“This helped us strengthen the image of BIOTRONIK in the world’s fastest growing region and offer the widest possible variety of innovative technology and solutions possible,” says Peter Horan, Managing Director Asia Pacific Manufacturing at BIOTRONIK. “It helps us bring our customers closer to our R&D with visits to our site as well, and contribute to the company’s success both in Asia-Pacific and as a whole.”

Wherever in the world they are based, our teams share a mission to save lives and improve quality of life. It’s a commitment we have all shared for 60 years – one which will continue long into the future.

__________________________________________________________________________________

For more insightful stories about BIOTRONIK, check out our corporate blog.

More Articles