Covidien plc was an Irish-headquartered global health care products company and manufacturer of medical devices and supplies. Covidien became an independent publicly traded company after being spun off from

Tyco International Tyco International was a security systems company incorporated in the Republic of Ireland, with operational headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey, United States (Tyco International (US) Inc.). Tyco International was composed of two major busin ...

in 2007. It was purchased by

Medtronic Medtronic plc is an American-Irish medical device company. The company's legal and executive headquarters are in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, while its operational headquarters are in Minneapolis, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Medtronic rebased to I ...

in a transaction that closed in 2015. The now-merged company is headquartered in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, where Covidien was based.

History

In 2007, Covidien was formed when

spun off its health care business. In 2009, Covidien acquired

Aspect Medical Systems Aspect Medical Systems was a medical devices company founded in 1987 then acquired in 2009 by Covidien. The company pioneered the use of brain monitoring to measure level of consciousness for anesthesia patients in the operating room. After a ser ...

, a manufacturer of brain monitoring sensors and monitors for $210 million. in 2010, Covidien acquired

Somanetics Somanetics was a medical devices company founded in 1982 then acquired in 2010 by Covidien. The company pioneered the INVOS technology used to measure level of blood oxygenation for patients undergoing surgical procedures. After a series of acqui ...

, a manufacturer of INVOS regional saturation monitors for $250 million. Newport Medical Instruments, a modest ventilator provider and manufacturer, was purchased by Covidien in 2012. Newport Medical Instruments had been contracted in 2006 by the

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the US federal government created to protect the health of the US people and providing essential human services. Its motto is "Im ...

Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) is a center within the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) located within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) responsible for the p ...

to design a cheap, portable ventilator. At the time, Newport Medical Instruments had three working prototypes produced, and was on schedule to file for market approval late 2013. Covidien then effectively halted the project, subsequently exiting the contract, citing the reason that it was not profitable enough due to significant design faults which had to be corrected with extensive redesign with minimal impact to regulatory requirements. Government officials and other medical equipment suppliers suspected that the Newport acquisition was largely done to prevent a cheaper product from undermining Covidien's existing ventilator business. This contributed to the shortage of ventilators during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. In October 2013, Covidien sold its Confluent Surgical product line for $235 million to

Integra LifeSciences Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation is a global medical device manufacturing company headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1989, the company manufactures products for skin regeneration, neurosurgery, reconstructive and general ...

, including its DuraSeal, VascuSeal and SprayShield products. In January 2014, Covidien acquired WEM Electronic Equipment, based in

Ribeirão Preto Ribeirão Preto (Portuguese pronunciation: Help:IPA/Portuguese, �ibejˈɾɐ̃w ˈpɾetu is a city and a metropolitan area located in the northeastern region of São Paulo (state), São Paulo state, Brazil. Ribeirão Preto is the eighth-la ...

, Brazil. In May 2014, Covidien acquired

Zephyr Technology Zephyr Technology Corporation, (also known as Zephyr) is a privately owned manufacturer of advanced heart rate monitors, remote physiological monitoring and wireless telehealth systems for remote patient monitoring. Based in Annapolis, Maryland ...

, a maker of wearable sensors and monitoring systems for an undisclosed amount. In June 2014, Covidien agreed to be acquired by

for $42.9 billion.

References

External links

Covidien.com

Covidien Company Profile at MarketWatch

Key Statistics
{{Pharmaceutical companies of the United States Medtronic Tyco International Health care companies of Ireland Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange Multinational companies Defunct pharmaceutical companies of the United States Companies based in Massachusetts Pharmaceutical companies established in 2007 Health care companies established in 2007 Corporate spin-offs 2015 mergers and acquisitions Tax inversions