| Covidien plc | |
| Type: | Subsidiary |
| Location: | Dublin, Ireland |
| Area Served: | Worldwide |
| Foundation: | 2007 |
| Successor: | Itself (as a subsidiary of Medtronic)[1] |
| Fate: | Merged with Medtronic |
| Key People: | José E. Almeida Bryan Hanson [2] |
| Industry: | Medical equipment |
| Products: | Medical devices Surgical supplies Medical supplies |
| Num Employees: | 39,000 (2014) |
| Homepage: | Covidien.com |
| Parent: | Medtronic |
Covidien (formerly an independent company known as Covidien plc) is 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 in 2007.[3] It was purchased by Medtronic in a transaction that closed in 2015. The now-merged company is headquartered in Ireland, where Covidien was based.[4]
In 2007, Covidien was formed when Tyco International spun off its health care business.[5]
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' Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority 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.[6]
In October 2013, Covidien sold its Confluent Surgical product line for $235 million to Integra LifeSciences, including its DuraSeal, VascuSeal and SprayShield products.[7]
In January 2014, Covidien acquired WEM Electronic Equipment, based in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil.[8]
In June 2014, Covidien agreed to be acquired by Medtronic for $42.9 billion.[9] [10]