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Our History 60 Years of Innovations and Service to the Healthcare Community

BIOTRONIK is proud of its 60-year history and consistent development of life-changing innovations. Our commitment to Excellence for Life has made us what we are today: a global leader in medical technology.

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Devices from old to new

Advancing Health and Well-Being Since 1963

BIOTRONIK was founded in Germany in 1963 when Max Schaldach and Otto Franke developed the first German pacemaker. Back then, the two young innovators worked to create a pacemaker that would go beyond the global models available at the time. And they succeeded: Their IP-3 model used less energy and was 15 grams lighter than other pacemakers. In late 1963, the renowned Prof. Emil Sebastian Bücherl was the first surgeon to implant BIOTRONIK’s first innovation in a patient. 

For the past 60 years we have consistently developed innovative and purpose-driven healthcare technology that saves and improves the lives of millions each year. Over the decades BIOTRONIK has grown – from Europe and America, to Australia, Africa, and Asia. Also, we focused on more and more patient groups: After the success of our cardiac rhythm management solutions, we broadened our scope to the fields of vascular intervention, electrophysiology and – recently – neuromodulation. 

BIOTRONIK has been a pioneer in all these fields, introducing state-of-the-art solutions to advance health and well-being for all people. View our history timeline to find out how the company, its global presence and technologies have evolved: 

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    Historic picture of the founding place of Biotronik
    1963

    Founding in Berlin, Germany

    In 1963, physicist Max Schaldach and electro engineer Otto Franke developed the first German implantable pacemaker at the Technical University of Berlin and officially found BIOTRONIK. The company’s headquarters would later be opened in the Berlin district of Neukölln, where it remains today.

     

    Early on, the company worked to improve pacemaker capacity and battery life, as well as securing connections between devices, electrodes and the heart.

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    world map with blue marked countries
    1979-1982

    International growth

    After experiencing exceptional technological and commercial success, the company expands globally. Production facilities are opened in Oregon, USA and other offices throughout Europe, Asia, North America and South America.

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    World's smallest ICD
    1993

    World's smallest ICD

    BIOTRONIK expands therapy solutions with the first German implantable defibrillator (ICD) which is the smallest ICD in the world at the time. 

    At the same time, the company models a unique fractal coating lead inspired by nature. Fractal coating creates a snowflake-like pattern that expands the lead’s electrical surface, optimizing its sensing and pacing capabilities. 

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    people working in a laboratory
    1995

    Swiss manufactoring

    BIOTRONIK continues to grow as business operations expand to include vascular intervention. A new manufacturing site is opened in the Swiss town of Bulach, just outside Zürich, which produces guide wires, stents and balloon catheters for the treatment of cardiovascular and endovascular diseases.

    This is also the year when the company created the first “empathetic” pacemaker with breakthrough Closed Loop Stimulation (CLS). A groundbreaking technology, CLS is the most advanced system to regulate and optimize heart activity based on neurological information. For the first time, the heart rates of device patients can react to physical, as well as mental and emotional activity. 

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    home monitoring device
    2000

    Facing the challenges of the future

    The company focuses on diagnostic and sensor technology, paving the way for the development of BIOTRONIK Home Monitoring which pioneered the ability to monitor patients outside the physician’s office, enabling early detection and treatment of critical events such as cardiac arrhythmias.

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    picture of the gold-tip ablation catheter
    2003

    Continued innovation

    Expansion of innovative therapy solutions continues with the first pacemakers with cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) in Germany. These were also the world’s first pacemakers to offer remote monitoring. 

    Further developments are made in the field of electrophysiology with the first gold-tip ablation catheter which allows for the effective and safe treatment of patients with atrial fibrillation.   

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    The world's smallest pacemaker, trendsetting stent technology, and more
    2009-2011

    The world's smallest pacemaker, trendsetting stent technology, and more

    Decades of research and development pays off with a number of world-first innovations and improvements across the entire BIOTRONIK portfolio: 

    • The world’s smallest pacemaker with an exceptional battery life lasting more than a decade is introduced and pacemakers begin to include ProMRI technology, enabling patients to safely undergo MRI scans.  

       
    • We launched the world’s first 4 French-compatible self-expanding stent, setting new standards in minimally invasive treatment of peripheral artery disease.

       
    • BIOTRONIK ICDs are further innovated with DX technology: the world’s first single-chamber ICD with complete atrial diagnostics. 

       
    • The company also developed its first drug-eluting balloon to treat the re-narrowing of a coronary artery.  

       
    • The world’s first hybrid drug-eluting stent (DES) with a bioabsorbable coating is developed, marking a new era in the treatment of coronary artery disease.  
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    picture of the manufacturing site of Biotronik in Singapore
    2016

    Manufacturing High-Tech Products in Singapore

    BIOTRONIK’s new manufacturing center in Singapore begins operations to expand the company’s existing hubs in Europe and the United States. The new site includes a 1,500 m² ISO class 7 cleanroom, supplying the global market with products for the company’s vascular intervention and cardiac rhythm management businesses.

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    Excellence for life
    2017

    Excellence for life

    Adoption and trademarking of the phrase “Excellence for Life,” also now part of our logo to amplify our underlying corporate values

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    neurostimulation device
    2023

    Expansion into neurostimulation

    Building on the success of cardiac rhythm management and electrical stimulation to pace the heart, BIOTRONIK launched its first spinal cord stimulation therapy model for the treatment of chronic intractable pain of the trunk and limbs in the US. With the FDA approval for its spinal cord stimulation system Prospera™ the company's new business segment BIOTRONIK Neuro enters the field of neuromodulation.

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    60 years of innovation
    Today

    Today and tomorrow

    BIOTRONIK remains a privately owned and independent company that employs thousands of engaged workers from more than 50 countries.  

    The company has world-class R&D and manufacturing sites in Germany, Switzerland and the US, and sells its innovative and renowned medical products in more than 100 countries across the globe.

    We look forward to the future, launching new products, entering new markets, and serving even more physicians and their patients.