"Medical Alley": The rise of the medical device industry in minnesota

This paper analyzes the factors that led to the establishment in Minnesota of a thriving network of advanced medical device firms sometimes referred to as ldquoMedical Alley.rdquo Factors examined include a favorable ldquobusiness-technology infrastructurerdquo that included the University of Minnesota, the migration of high-tech professionals from other industries, the emergence of specialized services and suppliers, the availability of capital, government encouragement, and support from trade associations. The seminal role of Medtronic, Inc., founded in 1949, is examined, particularly the invention of the first wearable cardiac pacemaker by the company´s co-founder Earl Bakken in 1957 and Medtronic´s licensing of the first fully implantable pacemaker developed by Wilson Greatbatch and William Chardack in 1960. Some of the major spin-off´s from Medtronic will be examined, particularly CPI (now part of Boston Scientific) and St. Jude Medical. The paper will broadly characterize the evolution of ldquoMedical Alley to the present.