CryoLife

In 1984, Steven Anderson and Robert McNally founded CryoLife, a company with a focused mission: to specialize in the low-temperature preservation of human heart valves. This technology was groundbreaking, particularly for complex cardiac reconstructions in children born with heart defects. The core business involved processing and cryopreserving donated human tissues, like heart valves and blood vessels, for a fee, making them available for transplant surgeries. The company went public in 1993, trading on the New York Stock Exchange. This event provided the capital to expand its reach and technology. A significant step came in 1996 when CryoLife acquired the patents for a surgical adhesive called BioGlue®, which received FDA approval in 2001 and became a major product. This marked a strategic expansion from tissue preservation into developing and selling its own medical devices. Over the years, CryoLife grew through strategic acquisitions. In 2016, the company acquired On-X Life Technologies, a manufacturer of mechanical heart valves, for $130 million. This was followed by the acquisition of German medical device maker JOTEC GmbH in 2017. These moves signaled a clear shift towards becoming a more comprehensive provider of solutions for aortic and vascular diseases. To reflect this evolution, in January 2022, CryoLife officially rebranded to Artivion, a name derived from 'aorta,' 'innovation,' and 'vision.' Today, Artivion continues to operate as a publicly traded company focused on the aortic technology market.