United States : BIOTRONIK, a leading manufacturer of implantable cardiac devices and pioneer of wireless remote monitoring technologies, delivered a company performance update, to kick off their activities at the Heart Rhythm 2011 Scientific Sessions being held in San Francisco, California, from May 4–7, 2011.

Despite the negative financial climate of the global medical technology sector, BIOTRONIK has taken advantage of their economic independence as a privately held operation. The multibillion global enterprise has established an impressive trajectory over the last six years, achieving consistent double-digit growth in revenue and 14% employee growth year over year. At the same time, these gains have been accomplished during a time of significant investments in landmark clinical research and the development of innovative engineering and manufacturing processes for producing high quality healthcare solutions.

“BIOTRONIK has grown faster than both the market and our competitors for 16 quarters in a row now,” stated Jake Langer, President of BIOTRONIK USA. “Our market share gains have afforded us the ability to invest in the United States and hire a substantial number of employees, despite the overall market downturn. Current and future conditions appear to favor our focused strategy for ensuring continued growth. We have a confident, positive outlook.”

Engineering quality solutions

Key technologies driving BIOTRONIK’s success will be highlighted at Heart Rhythm 2011, the premier event for companies involved in research or delivery of arrhythmia care or services. Included will be several launches announced within the last few days:

The revolutionary Selectra CRT lead delivery system, which is uniquely designed to reduce handling complexity, facilitate maneuverability and reduce the risk of displacing the left ventricular lead in cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) device implantations.

The Evia pacemaker family, which has expanded to 10 models—including the new Estella and Effecta series. A sophisticated Vp suppression algorithm, designed to ensure the heart is stimulated only when necessary, further broadens the utility of this key product line.

The next-generation Renamic cardiac device programmer, the industry’s newest and smallest, which is packed with convenient features for medical professionals who program and test implantable cardiac devices.

Landmark clinical research

In recent years, BIOTRONIK has focused on being a leader in clinical excellence and has made significant investments in several landmark clinical studies. This emphasis on research is a key strategy that will continue in the future.

As an example, the company is at the forefront of the industry in providing high-level evidence for pioneering technologies such as remote monitoring—and is planning to do the same to expand therapies for significantly underserved populations such as heart failure patients. These studies are meaningful, outcome-based clinical trials such as EchoCRT, IMPACT and CASTLE-AF, as well as TRUST and REPLACE. The latter two will be featured at the Heart Rhythm 2011 Scientific Program during several general session presentations.

World-class clinical education

In collaboration with some of the world’s most renowned electrophysiology clinical thought leaders, BIOTRONIK continues to expand what has become the standard in international fellows programs. The program, which concentrates on prestigious academic centers, facilitates world-class education for physicians at specific critical junctures of their advanced medical training.

This truly global initiative was developed based on the input of highly regarded clinical course directors and an international advisory committee that identifies both the needs of the electrophysiologist (EP) in training and the programs to deliver on those needs. To date, several hundred EP fellows have benefited from the opportunities this program provides: to learn from some of the world’s best, most experienced EPs in a smaller group format that is conducive to one-on-one discussions, insightful debate and practical learning.

BIOTRONIK also offers several types of programs for practicing physicians, as well as clinical support staff—and has established itself as the leader in providing unbiased, peer-to-peer medical education. In the past year, five Advanced Concepts in Electrophysiology (ACE) sessions have been conducted in collaboration with distinguished course directors. These thought leaders developed agendas and assembled faculties to deliver the most relevant, beneficial educational content to their peers in highly interactive presentation formats. Three more ACE Sessions are already planned for 2011.

Additional highly effective, practical education programs offered by BIOTRONIK include Advanced Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy (CRT) and Ablation Workshops, which combine sophisticated lectures on state-of-the-art therapies by prestigious clinical faculty with the unequaled value of experiential training gained via live cases—eight of which are done during the two-day course.

Future outlook

“BIOTRONIK is currently a major market share player in several important countries around the world,” commented Marlou Janssen, Global Vice President of Marketing and Sales. “Our achievements are a result of highly reliable and innovative technologies, a physician- and patient-centric service commitment that is not motivated by shareholders or stock market dynamics, but by a strong strategic vision and sustainable development.”

“BIOTRONIK’s current and future focus is on continuing our proven approach to success,” continued Janssen. “This approach includes substantial investing in clinical research and education—the kind that will make a significant difference for the industry. This strategy will help us further tap the substantial potential in markets such as the USA and bring them some of the industry’s most unique, proven, high quality solutions.”