was founded in 1921 as Red Line Thermometer Corporation by a group of medical scientists led by Dr. Kitasato Shibasaburō to produce

medical thermometer A medical thermometer or clinical thermometer is a device used for Temperature examination, measuring the body temperature of a human or other animal. The tip of the thermometer is inserted into the mouth under the tongue (''oral'' or ''sub-lingu ...

s in Japan. The company's first product was "Jintan Taionkei", the first Japanese-made thermometer available for sale, and it has since expanded into a medical devices manufacturer, producing medical disposables, cardiovascular systems and diabetes care products. In 1971, Terumo opened its first overseas office in the United States. Since then, the company has established subsidiaries in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

(1971),

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. The company later expanded its product range to include

coronary stent A coronary stent is a tube-shaped device placed in the coronary arteries that supply blood to the heart, to keep the arteries open in patients suffering from coronary heart disease. The vast majority of stents used in modern interventional ca ...

s and

catheters In medicine, a catheter ( ) is a thin tube made from medical grade materials serving a broad range of functions. Catheters are medical devices that can be inserted in the body to treat diseases or perform a surgical procedure. Catheters are man ...

, and acquired, among others, the cardiovascular specialty companies Vascutek and Microvention in 2002 and 2006 respectively.

Business segments and products

Terumo Corporation was organized into three business segments: * Cardiac & Vascular Business ** Intravascular ultrasound systems **

Catheter In medicine, a catheter ( ) is a thin tubing (material), tube made from medical grade materials serving a broad range of functions. Catheters are medical devices that can be inserted in the body to treat diseases or perform a surgical procedure. ...

s for the treatment of coronary artery disease **

Drug-eluting stent A drug-eluting stent (DES) is a tube made of a mesh-like material used to treat atherosclerosis, narrowed arteries in medical procedures both mechanically (by providing a supporting scaffold inside the artery) and pharmacologically (by slowly ...

s ** Angiographic catheters ** Abdominal and peripheral endovascular coils ** Heart-lung machines ** Oxygenators with integrated arterial filter ** Artificial vascular grafts * Blood Management Business ** Automated blood collection system ** Automated blood component processing devices ** Blood bag systems with leukocyte reduction filter ** Pathogen reduction technology systems ** Therapeutic apheresis systems ** Cell expansion systems * General Hospital Business ** IV catheters ** Infusion sets ** Syringe pumps ** Blood glucose monitoring systems ** Lancing devices for blood collection ** CAPD systems ** Digital thermometers ** Blood pressure monitors Terumo Penpol, the company's subsidiary in Trivandrum,

is the largest manufacturer of blood bags in India and supplies it to over 82 countries. A medical device facility called Terumo BCT is located in

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

suburb of

Lakewood, Colorado Lakewood is the List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality that is the List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous municipality in Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 15 ...

, and , has been open and operating for over 20 years. A 2018 investigation into the release of ethylene oxide—a sterilizing agent for the blood diagnostic and treatment devices—into the atmosphere showed no increased cancer risk for those in the neighborhood, and the EPA will continue to allow up to of ethylene oxide to be released annually. However, Terumo said they release only per year and are working to reduce that amount.

Acquisitions

In July 1999 Terumo acquired the cardiovascular division of 3M Company, and established Terumo Cardiovascular Systems Corp. in the USA. In 1999, Terumo entered into a joint venture with the

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

company Penpol. In 2001 the company made two more acquisitions: it acquired the home oxygen division of Sumitomo Bakelite Co., Ltd., and establish Terumo Medical Care K.K., and Ikiken Co., Ltd. of Japan. In 2002 the company acquired UK-based Vascutek. Four years later, in 2006 the company ventured into a new field (endovascular coils for the treatment of cerebral aneurysms) by buying American company MicroVention Inc. The tissue heart valve division of Kohler Chemine GmbH was acquired in March 2007 and expanded Terumo's operations related to vascular prostheses. A year later the Japanese company Clinical Supply Co., Ltd. became a Terumo subsidiary and enhanced Terumo's interventional systems business in the field of radiotherapy. In March 2011, the company bought U.S. medical device company CaridianBCT for around $2.6 billion. It was the largest acquisition by a Japanese medical equipment maker at the time. The same year Harvest Technologies Corporation—point-of-care cell therapy—and Onset Medical Corp.—sheath technology designed for multiple, minimally-invasive clinical applications—was acquired. In 2018, after the acquisition of Bolton Medical, a merger with Vascutek Ltd. gave place to the new company Terumo Aortic, focusing on “expanding aortic treatment options.”

Business segments and products

Acquisitions

References

External links