1. We put the patient at the center of our work
We help to restore and secure the patient's quality of life in a lasting way.

2. We see ourselves as a partner for the physician
Working closely with physicians, we can see which products and therapies they need, which enables us to develop and produce devices that perfectly meet their requirements.

3. We stay in close contact with the scientific community
Closely linking the natural sciences with the realm of engineering is a major issues for us. The result: high-quality innovative products.

4. Growth is our goal
Over the past few years, BIOTRONIK® has experienced rapid and consistent growth. We view this growth as a challenge to continue to develop first-class products in the future, while making prudent business decisions.

5. We remain independent
BIOTRONIK primarily uses its own resources to finance activities. Our independence makes us flexible and helps us to react quickly to the users' needs.

6. Our staff is our most valuable asset
BIOTRONIK is proud of its employees, their years of experience, their expertise and their extraordinary motivation. Thanks to flat hierarchies, profit sharing, educational opportunities, and a pleasant working environment, our employees truly feel like they are a part of the company.

7. We are rooted in the European corporate tradition
BIOTRONIK can look back on more than forty years of experience in medical technology, and is today a global player with European roots.

BIOTRONIK has concentrated in two distinct business areas -  electrotherapy and vascular intervention - which has enabled the company to provide customers with a wide range of standardized products. 

Electrotherapy
Electrotherapy offers diagnostic tools and options for treating arrhythmias. The purpose of first-generation pacemakers was to save patients’ lives. However, modern implants fulfil a broad range of functions.  Improving the patients' quality of life and monitoring the heart using diagnostic features are becoming increasingly important.

 In the field of electrotherapy, we offer the following devices:

pacemakers
defibrillators
leads and catheters
external devices for processing implant data, as well as
measurement and ablation devices for electrophysiology.

Vascular Intervention
Vascular intervention provides solutions for stenosis and occlusion of arterial vessels. Every year, around one million coronary stents are being implanted worldwide. Stents also are useful in treating stenosis in peripheral arteries. An innovative silicon-carbide coating guarantees excellent hemocompatibility for BIOTRONIK® products, and reduces the risk of restenosis in the damaged area.

 In the field of vascular intervention, we offer the following devices:

guidewires
balloon catheters, and
stents.

1960s – Exploring Opportunities
BIOTRONIK® was founded in 1963, as physicist Max Schaldach and electrical engineer Otto Franke developed the first German implantable pacemaker. In the early years, BIOTRONIK‘s primary focus was on solving basic problems.  These included short battery service time, the uncertainty of the remaining battery power, and developing a reliable method for connecting the lead to both the pacemaker and the heart. Research and Development (R&D) produced a series of innovations that are considered milestones in pacemaker technology today.

1970s – Expanding the Playing Field
The appointment of Dr. Schaldach as professor for biomedical engineering at Erlangen's Friedrich-Alexander University boosted the company's R&D work. In 1976, the company opened headquarters in Berlin-Neukolln, Sieversufer 8, and eventually moved next door to Woermannkehre 1 (in 1987).

 Upon acquiring Stimulation Technology, Inc., BIOTRONIK set up production facilities in Lake Oswego, Oregon, in the United States.  At this time, the company also began developing and producing advanced hybrid circuitry and modules for the biomedical industry.  This was the harbinger to breakthrough technology in the pacemaker industry.  These are pioneering BIOTRONIK achievements that stand out in medical technology history.

 BIOTRONIK also met the demands of clients and patrons who required pacemakers and diagnostic devices for electrophysiological studies – thus enlarging the range of its customer base.

1980s – New Horizons
The development of physiological stimulation marked the beginning of a new phase in pacemaker therapy. Dual-chamber pacing technology responded more in the way of a patient’s actual needs.  These “DDD” pacemakers gave priority to spontaneous heart contractions, as they triggered a stimulus only when necessary. However, this new generation of products were prone to accidental interactions between atrium and ventricle. Having prior experience with dual-chamber pacemakers during the 1960s, BIOTRONIK was prepared and quickly focused on addressing the challenges of DDD technology, subsequently becoming a European market leader with the Diplos 03 pacemaker.

 Thanks to other technological and commercial successes in the 1980s, BIOTRONIK was able to expand into Europe, South America and Asia.

1990s – Widening the Product Range
In 1993, BIOTRONIK expanded its product range with implantable defibrillators.

BIOTRONIK's philosophy of orienting R&D to designing products that would work as close to nature as possible, enabled the company to develop a key achievement: Closed Loop Stimulation. This technology integrated the pacemaker into the body’s natural regulatory system. This allowed it to react to the patient's changing physical and related mental activity.

 Another innovation of the 1990s, fractal coating of implantable leads, was also based on a principle of nature.  This coating optimizes the lead's electrically active surface, critically improving its electrical sensing and pacing properties. BIOTRONIK is still the forerunner in this field, and the only manufacturer of fractal coated leads.

In 1995, BIOTRONIK added vascular intervention devices such as balloon catheters and stents for the treatment of coronary and peripheral vessels to its product range.

 In the 1990s, the company also added diagnostic and therapeutic catheters as well as a radio-frequency generators for ablation to its product range further developing the work started in the 1970’s, and now offers a complete product portfolio for electrotherapy for the heart.

Accepting the Challenges of the New Millenium
BIOTRONIK’s Home Monitoring service provides physicians with current data from their implants, regardless of their patients’ location. This innovative technology combines optimal therapy with the most efficient care - increasing and protecting the patient’s security.  The ability to follow-up on patients at home after surgical recovery, has lead to a physician’s ability to monitor his or her patients with not only less stress to the patient, but also where a patient’s recovery is documentedly best.

 Innovative technologies also improved treatment success in the area of vascular intervention. BIOTRONIK’s absorbable metal stent (AMS) is performing successfully in the testing phase. Another research project focuses on drug-eluting stents, which contributes to the targeted prophylaxis of restenoses through the release of drugs.

Improved patient safety and quality of life is one of BIOTRONIK’s major concerns, and the company intends to continue its focus in this direction in the years to come.
th European roots.