Medical device companies have experienced steady growth over the years, and it is predicted that they will continue to grow. The population is continually increasing, and hence, it is important to update medical devices regularly to meet the different demands of the world. Below are the top 10 medical device manufacturing companies, which have been continuously adapting to the changes.
10 Medical Device Companies
These are the best medical device companies to work for if you are into medical device companies.
1. Medtronic
Medtronic is a medical device company founded in 1949 by Earl Baker and Palmer Hermundslie. It is headquartered in the Republic of Ireland but has its executive headquarters in Minnesota as it generates the majority of its profit from the US. It started as a medical equipment repair shop. Through this business, Earl and Palmer made a few important contacts, including a heart surgeon. Together, they were able to make the first battery-powered pacemaker. After making the first artificial battery-powered pacemaker, the repair company steadily expanded to become a huge medical device company. In 2018, Medtronic was ranked as the world’s largest medical device company, operating in more than 140 countries and employing over 86,000 people.
Medtronic operates by dividing itself into four business units.
The first unit is minimally invasive therapy. It has entered into robotics, which has enabled it to offer more efficient and advanced minimally invasive surgery to its customers. It manufactured products for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases without many invasions into the body. This unit aims to launch about 80 products and generates approximately $4 billion from it.
The second unit is the restorative therapies group, which was formed only a few years back. But it has been able to use strategies like neural modulation to advance restorative therapies.
The third unit, the Diabetes unit, is one of the most important groups for Medtronic. It has been able to develop an advanced insulin pump, which could be used for a lifetime. This FDA-approved device can pump insulin into the body when needed. And it has been recognized as an important development in the field of diabetes.
The last unit is the Cardiac unit, which is the largest and oldest unit. It has its expertise in electrical stimulation to treat cardiac rhythm diseases and manage such conditions.
2. Philips
Philips is a Dutch corporation, which has its headquarters in Amsterdam. It is one of the largest electronics company with its main focus on lighting and healthcare. In 1891, a father-son duo, Frederick and Gerard, founded Philips. The company started with the production of carbon-filament lamps and expanded its business to the creation of other electrical products. By the early 1900s, the company had started to produce many new electrical products like vacuum tubes and razors. The company is focusing on two different areas: Lighting and healthcare. It employs about 74,000 people and operates across 100 nations.
Philips healthcare is divided into two main divisions: consumer health and professional healthcare, with the aim of making an impact anywhere and everywhere from hospitals to home. It entered the health business in 2000 after buying the Optivia Corporation and rebranding it as Philips Oral Healthcare. It started slowly by testing the water in this new field by buying out many other small healthcare-focused companies like Agilent Technologies until it bought Lifeline Systems. This deal was the biggest deal Philips took to expand to the healthcare sector. It merged and worked with various other companies like Respironics, VISICU, etc. The company is now trying to be innovative for consumers through extensive research.
Philips is trying to strengthen its position in non-invasive surgery and imaging. It has been expanding by acquiring companies that manufacture medical devices or with image-guided therapy business. With its aim to simplify healthcare and improve people’s quality of life, it has invested a total of €1.61 billion in research and development. It has been producing oral health products, mother-child care products, clinical informatics, body imaging products in addition to advancements in healthcare software, nuclear medicines, and other healthcare systems.
3. Johnson & Johnson
Johnson & Johnson is an American multinational corporation. It was founded in 1886 by Robert Wood Johnson and his brothers. And it aimed to create ready-to-use surgical dressings. Johnson & Johnson made McNeil and its laboratories a part of its own and began producing and marketing prescription drugs to doctor and healthcare providers. Hence, they were able to pitch and sell Tylenol for the first time. After that, the company started acquiring other companies that worked in the same field and expanded its business. With its headquarters now in New Jersey, it operates with more than 250 subsidiary companies in more than 175 different countries. It has grown to be one of the most important corporations with sales of more than $70 billion.
Johnson & Johnson is a family of companies. It has numerous companies under its umbrella and, therefore, has been divided into three broad divisions for efficiency.
The first division is consumer healthcare. This division mainly focuses on products that are required daily to maintain a quality of life. It includes products for baby care, skin, hair, vision aiding devices, and oral health. It also produces over the counter medications and other topical creams and nutrition tablets.
The second division is pharmaceuticals. This includes the production of products that are necessary for the treatment of diseases and increasing immunity. It contains products that induce the antibody for anti-tumor factors, autoimmune diseases, injections for the treatment of schizophrenia, and other FDA-approved medications.
The third division is for medical devices. The company is using the majority of its resources in this division to change the treatment options and deliver help efficiently. Also, the company has been prioritizing big ideas across science to develop new devices and methods to provide care. They have been able to advance sterilization products, joint reconstruction tools, sports medications, insulin delivering devices, and many more.
4. Siemens Healthlineers
Siemens Healthlineers is a mother company for several companies operating in the medical device field. It was founded by Werner von Siemens and Johann Georg Halske in 1847 in Berlin as a small family business. It was founded, focusing on an invention created by Siemens called the pointer telegraph, which later included electric equipment that specialized in medical technology. This company was also the first one to produce X-ray tubes for medical diagnosis. They have merged and acquired various other companies. They have been able to introduce rotating anode tubes for modern X-rays, use the ultrasound technique for echocardiography, developed the first cardiac pacemaker, image processing software, hybrid imaging system, etc.
By prioritizing innovation for more than 120 years, the company is a global powerhouse in healthcare. With its headquarters in Germany, this company employs more than 45,000 people.
Siemens Healthlineers enables healthcare providers to benefit over five million patients worldwide through their innovations. It has technologies and services in the areas of imaging, diagnostics, molecular medicine, and digital health, with more than 18,000 patients globally.
This leading global company is determined to shape the future of healthcare. They have been doing so by innovations in various fields. In the field of medical imaging, this company was the first to produce products of medical X-rays and had a hand in developing the modern X-ray, ultrasounds, and MRIs. They have been advancing this field by developing robotic imaging, software, and artificial intelligence. It also offers a wide range of testing systems that aid in the prevention of diseases. It has been integrating solutions to digitalize healthcare. With advancing technologies, this company is still aiming to be the first in every medical field.
5. Abbott Laboratories
Abbott Laboratories is an American medical device and healthcare company that was founded by Chicago based physician, Wallace Calvin. It started in 1888 after the discovery of using active parts of the plants to treat the patient. The company was known to formulate and sell drugs. Abbott started to affiliate with companies in London, Canada, and Pakistan in the early 1900s. It continued its expansion by merging with other medical companies in Japan, Italy, France, and India. Abbott has been able to be the most prominent pharmaceutical company in India for over 100 years. This laboratory continued its expansion by acquiring medical departments of companies like knoll and clear eyes. It made its own Abbott Diabetes Care by buying and merging with TheraSense and MediSense. It also purchased a vascular device division of Guidant and renamed it as Abbott Nutrition.
In 2010, Abbott decided to separate the company into two departments that would function under the umbrella of Abbott. Among the divisions, one was research-based pharmaceuticals, and the other was medical devices manufacturing, which sold generic drugs and diagnostics.
This company has been committed to providing the best healthcare for the people. It aims to develop life-changing technologies that keep one healthy at every stage of life. It is operating in more than 60 countries with more than 103K employees. With its commitment towards improving health standards, it has been able to develop technologies for continuous glucose monitoring and contributed a huge step towards the future of diagnostics, inventions, and expertise in the areas of cardio and neural modulation.
6. Cardinal Health
Cardinal Health is an American multinational health care company. It was founded in 1971 by Robert D. Walter as a food wholesaler under the name ‘Cardinal Food.’ It acquired a wholesale drug company named Bailey Drug and began selling drugs. This company started expanding in the medical field after 1983. It merged with many startups and acquired many companies in the medical field to become the third-largest pharmaceutical wholesaler in the United States by 1994. It completed its spinoff of clinical products into an independent medical company and expanded itself internationally. With its headquarters based in Dublin, Ohio, and Ireland, it has an annual revenue of $124 billion and employs more than 37,000 people worldwide. It specializes in the distribution of medical products and has the largest radio pharmacies.
The company has been providing clinically proven medical products and pharmaceuticals. It has committed itself toward delivering cost-effective solutions to enhance supply. With its experience of nearly 100 years, the company is the number one device supplier in the hospitals of the United States right now. It has been producing products like wheelchairs, crutches, exam room tables, and products in the laboratory discipline, which are cost-effective and durable.
It has been providing high-quality, cost-effective, customizable products and technologies in multiple sectors like the cardiovascular sector, the surgical sector, and anesthesia. In addition to its business, this company has a charitable arm known as the Cardinal Health Foundation. Through this foundation, the company donates worth over $9 million every year throughout the world. It also provides funds to hospitals and other health-related organizations such as Ronald McDonald Charity and the Solutions for Patient safety project. Moreover, it has been prioritizing safety initiatives in children’s hospitals throughout the nation.
7. GE Healthcare
GE Healthcare is an American multinational company by C.F Samms and J.B Wantz in 1983 as an electric company. This electric company was operated in a basement. The company then started making X-ray machines. The primary factor for their unprecedented growth is their merger with their biggest competitors. Later in the 1900s, they started their expansion into foreign countries after General Electric acquired it. By the 1950s, this company had a medical department and was able to introduce patient monitoring equipment and modular equipment for cardiac and intensive care units. It invested in research and development, which enabled them to develop a standby pacemaker. It invested heavily in CT scan developments, MRIs, and the nuclear medicine department.
GE Healthcare, with its headquarters in Chicago, Illinois, is one of the leading companies in the field of radiopharmaceuticals and diagnostic medical equipment. It has expanded its medical facilities to develop electronic medical recording software and manufacture intra-operative devices and minimally invasive image-guided surgery products.
This company has been operating in more than 100 countries as a leading medical technology company to improve the outcomes for healthcare providers and receivers. To support each individual’s needs, this company has been continuously merging and developing itself and its technologies.
8. Boston Scientific
Boston Scientific is part of Boston Scientific Corporation that manufactures medical devices used for interventional treatment. This corporation was formed on June 29, 1979, in Massachusetts, as a company for a medical products company called Medi-Tech. It was started as an initiative to grow interventional medicine technology. The company began acquiring other corporations like Precision Vascular Systems, Advanced Bionics Corporation, and Advanced Stent Technologies. It acquired TriVascular in 1998 to develop less invasive medical devices and procedures. Then it acquired Rubicon Medical Corporation and became Boston Specific. Initially, this company was primarily known for the development of a drug-eluting stent to open clogged arteries. The acquisition of Cameron Health meant it could offer a minimally invasive implantable cardioverter-defibrillator and subcutaneous implantable defibrillator.
Dedicated to transforming lives through innovative medical solutions to improve the quality of life of people, they foster an environment of transformation and creativity. They have been able to expand their business to various aspects of the medical field. They also have FDA approved drug-free pain management techniques.
Boston Scientific has a self-imposed standard of implementing an integrative organization to improve diversity further. It has roughly an equal number of men and women working across 130 countries. It has been quoted as the best place to work for minorities and other communities multiple times on various platforms.
9. Baxter International
Baxter International is an American healthcare company that primarily focuses on products to treat hemophilia, kidney disorders, immune disorders, and other related medical conditions. It was founded by Donald Baxter, a medical doctor in the States with the aim of manufacturing and distributing intravenous therapy solutions. In 1935, Ralph Falk established a research and development function in this company, which led to new inventions like a vacuum-type collector container that extended the life of shelved blood. In 1956, it expanded to an international platform by opening an office in Belgium. Through the 1990s, the company expanded to deliver a wider variety of products and services (including vaccines, a range of blood products) through the acquisition of medical companies internationally. Hence, sales also expanded throughout the world.
Baxter International grew throughout the world by introducing new innovative methods and medical devices. It was the first company to introduce a functioning artificial kidney. It also produced recombinant DNAs and blood plasmas to treat bleeding disorders, plasma therapies for immune dysfunctions, and regenerative medications. Besides, it also produces intravenous products, anesthetics, products to treat renal diseases and products for dialysis, including hemodialysis. Moreover, it provides about 70-80% of the products needed in a hospital in the United States. Working with experts around the world has made all these innovations possible. It has been a firm-standing company for over 50 years and has been recognized by numerous global, national, and local industries around the world.
10. Stryker Corporation
The Stryker Corporation is a medical technology-based firm that was started in 1941 by an orthopedist. This company’s first medical device was a mobile hospital bed that allowed repositioning the injured patient, which made providing necessary help easier. In 1979, this company acquired the Osteonics Corporation and started developing materials for hip replacement, knee replacement, and other orthopedic implants. This corporation has expanded its business from orthopedics to other medical niches. By acquiring the neurovascular division of Boston Scientific, it started producing products for the minimally invasive treatment of bleeding. It produces memory metal alloy and stent technology to treat brain aneurysms, using a mesh design. It has products in the implants and surgeries to endoscopy and communication systems.
The Stryker Corporation, headquartered in Michigan, sells its products in more than 100 countries, with branches in third world countries as well. It has been operating efficiently by segregating itself into three divisions: Orthopedics, Medical and Surgical (MedSurg), and Neurotechnology and Spine. The orthopedics section consists of implants used in hip/knee replacement and extreme surgeries. The surgical section includes equipment like navigation systems and emergency medical equipment. In addition to this, Stryker also manufactures systems used in spinal injury and deformity.
