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 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.