The Sorin Group was a medical products group based in Italy, with significant operations in France, the United States, and Japan, specializing in cardiac devices.[1] Its product lines include[2] replacement heart valves, oxygenators, perfusion tubing sets, cardiothoracic surgery accessories, data monitoring, heart-lung machines, autotransfusion systems, and cannulae, and a line of blood management products.
It began as a nuclear research company owned primarily by Fiat, transformed into a biomedical company upon nationalization of Italy's electric system, sold to SNIA S.p.A., and finally spun off as a separate company listed on the Milan Stock Exchange. Along the way, it and its earlier parent companies bought and sold various other companies, including Dideco, Stöckert, and ELA Medical.
On February 26, 2015, Sorin Group announced that it will merge with fellow medical devices maker Cyberonics to form a new UK-based company called LivaNova.[3][4]
History
Sorin is an acronym for Società Ricerche Impianti Nucleari (Company for Nuclear Plant Research). It was founded in 1956 by Fiat and Montedison, Italy's two largest industrial groups at that time, to tackle the problems inherent in the production of nuclear energy. Sorin was created as a research company and was equipped with an experimental reactor for materials research. It was intended to serve as the "brain" that would mastermind the nuclear energy projects that the two groups were planning. At the time, Sorin did not have ambitions in the medical field. However, in the decade following its founding, it accumulated significant technological know-how in all of the major areas of science. This was because nuclear energy requires expertise in many areas, from electronics to chemistry, materials technology and even experimental physics. After 10 years in business, Sorin had become a repository of knowledge and skills that were important for the country as a whole.
When the nuclear power industry was hit by a crisis caused by the nationalization of the electric utilities, the Company switched businesses, focusing on technologies related to medicine, and changed its name to Sorin Biomedica (Fiat Group). The conversion was successful: in just three years, Sorin Biomedica became a self-sustaining, profitable company. This success greatly enhanced the Company's image both in Italy and Europe, as Sorin was the only European nuclear research company that was able to transform itself into an industrial company with vast technological know-how. Over the years, Sorin continued to expand, acquiring competitors in Italy and abroad - in France and the United States in particular.
In 1985, Sorin Biomedica listed its shares on the Milan Stock Exchange. In 1986 it was taken over by Snia, when Fiat conveyed a 75% interest in Sorin Biomedica to Snia.
In 1992, Sorin Biomedica purchased Shiley, the Cardiovascular Devices Division of a group headed by Pfizer Inc., a U.S. company. The acquisition included (i) Dideco, an Italian company that was the European leader in the market for extracorporeal blood circulation and autologous blood transfusion products, and (ii) Stöckert, a leading world producer and distributor of heart-lung machines, as well as their subsidiaries.