Cardiac Pacemakers, Inc.
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| Company type | Public (NYSE: BSX) S&P 500 Component |
|---|---|
| Industry | Medical equipment |
| Founded | 1971 |
| Headquarters | Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA |
| Products | Medical devices |
| Services | Medical technology |
Cardiac Pacemakers, Inc.(CPI), doing business as Guidant Cardiac Rhythm Management, manufactured implantable cardiac rhythm management devices, such as pacemakers and defibrillators. It sold microprocessor-controlled insulin pumps and equipment to regulate heart rhythm. It developed therapies to treat irregular heartbeat. The company was founded in 1971 and is based in St. Paul, Minnesota. Cardiac Pacemakers, Inc. is a subsidiary of Boston Scientific Corporation.[1]
Early history
CPI was founded in February 1972 in St. Paul, Minnesota. The first $50,000 capitalization for CPI was raised from a phone booth on the Minneapolis skyway system.[2]
Medtronic at the time had 65% of the artificial pacemaker market. CPI was the first spin-off from Medtronic. It competition using the world's first lithium-powered pacemaker. Medtronic's market share plummeted to 35%.[3][4]
Founding partners Anthony Adducci, Manny Villafaña, Jim Baustert, and Art Schwalm, were former Medtronic employees. Lawsuits ensued, all settled out of court.[5]
Acquisition
CPI was a successful startup, increasing sales from zero in 1972 to a profitable $47 million. It was acquired by Eli Lilly and Company in 1978 for $127 million.[6]
Lithium battery
CPI designed and manufactured the world's first pacemaker with a lithium anode and a lithium-iodide electrolyte solid-state battery. The pacemaker structure is enclosed in a hermetically sealed metallic enclosure, allowing electrode leads to pass in a sealed relationship. The surface of the casing is polished metal, with a zone through which the external electrode leads pass.[7]
The Lithium-iodide or lithium anode cells revolutionized the medical industry by increasing the pacemaker life from 1 year up to 11 years. It became the standard for pacemaker designs.
References
- ^ "Cardiac Pacemakers Inc - Company Profile and News".
- ^ St. Anthony N: Ingenuity and integrity mark Medtronic co-founder. Minneapolis Star and Tribune, Feb 11, 1985, pp M1-3
- ^ Mundale S: Blessed are the pacemakers. Corporate Report Minnesota, Nov 1981, pp 63-70
- ^ Jeffrey, Kirk (April 2003). Machines in Our Hearts: The Cardiac Pacemaker, the Implantable Defibrillator, and American Health Care. ISBN 9780801876165.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Fiedler T: Straight from the heart. Minnesota Business Journal, Feb 1985, p p 24-35
- ^ "Pioneers of the Medical Device Industry". Minnesota Historical Society.
- ^ "Metal-enclosed cardiac pacer with solid-state power source". US3822707 A.
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