Founding and early coronary stent business (1998–2010)
MicroPort was founded in 1998 in Shanghai by Zhaohua Chang and a team of engineers.[5] The company initially focused on interventional cardiology devices, developing coronary balloons, catheters, and drug-eluting stents for the Chinese healthcare market.[6]
During the 2000s, MicroPort developed successive generations of drug-eluting stents, including the Firebird platform launched in 2004 and the Firebird2 platform that followed.[7] By the end of the decade, the company had established itself as a leading domestic supplier of interventional cardiovascular devices in China with approximately 40% domestic market share.[8] During this first decade, MicroPort also began expanding internationally with distribution into other Asian markets including Japan.[9]
In September 2010, MicroPort completed its initial public offering on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (stock code: 00853.HK), raising capital to fund expansion of its product development pipeline and international operations.[10]
In 2014, MicroPort received regulatory approval in China for its Firehawk stent system, followed by a CE Mark in Europe in 2015.[11] The Firehawk platform features a unique abluminal groove-filled design that delivers sirolimus using a biodegradable polymer, with a lower drug and polymer load compared to contemporary drug-eluting stents.[12] Clinical outcomes were evaluated in the TARGET trial series, which demonstrated non-inferiority to conventional drug-eluting stents and superiority in certain clinical contexts.[12][13][14][15][16]
MicroPort also began development of Firesorb, a bioresorbable vascular scaffold, in the mid-2010s during a period when the broader industry was reassessing bioresorbable vascular scaffold technology as a whole. Following clinical setbacks with first-generation scaffolds, including Abbott's withdrawal of its Absorb device from global markets in 2017 and Boston Scientific's halt of its bioresorbable scaffold program the same year,[17][18] MicroPort continued investment in a next-generation bioresorbable technology.[19]
International expansion and acquisitions (2010s)
Beginning in the 2010s, MicroPort pursued a diversification strategy, expanding from its core coronary intervention business into orthopedics, cardiac rhythm management (CRM), and endovascular therapies through a combination of organic development and strategic acquisitions in North America and Europe.[2]
In January 2014, MicroPort acquired Wright Medical's OrthoRecon business for approximately $290 million, establishing MicroPort Orthopedics with headquarters and manufacturing operations in Arlington, Tennessee.[20] The acquisition included a portfolio of hip and knee reconstruction implants and positioned MicroPort among the top ten global orthopedic device manufacturers by revenue. MicroPort Orthopedics subsequently expanded operations into additional markets including India and other Asia-Pacific countries.[21]
MicroPort entered the CRM sector through a strategic collaboration with the Sorin Group announced in January 2014, establishing a joint venture focused on developing and commercializing CRM devices including pacemakers and implantable cardioverter-defibrillators.[22]
Beginning in 2019, MicroPort restructured its corporate organization around a platform strategy, establishing specialized subsidiaries focused on distinct therapeutic areas and technologies. This approach was designed to provide each business unit with dedicated management teams, separate capital structures, and the ability to pursue independent funding through public listings while maintaining strategic coordination under the MicroPort parent company.[2]
In 2020, MicroPort Endovastec, the aortic and peripheral endovascular stent-graft business line, became one of the early medical device companies listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange STAR Market (stock code: 688016.SH).[26]
In 2021, MicroPort CardioFlow, which develops transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) systems such as VitaFlow and VitaFlow Liberty, was listed on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (stock code 02160.HK).[27] MicroPort MedBot, which develops the Toumai multi-port laparoscopic surgical robot and other robotic systems, was listed also listed in 2021 on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (stock code 02252.HK).[28]
Recent developments and globalization (2020s)
In the 2020s, MicroPort accelerated its international expansion strategy and advanced clinical research programs. In January 2022, the company established its regional subsidiary headquarters in California, incorporating manufacturing capabilities, an innovation center, and regulatory affairs operations to support commercialization efforts in the United States and broader global market.[32][33]
Meanwhile, MicroPort MedBot expanded its international clinical program for the Toumai surgical robot system, with a focus on demonstrating remote surgery capabilities in a structured clinical evaluation program examining the technical feasibility and safety of remote robotic surgery in settings with limited access to specialized surgical expertise. In October 2024, the company reported completion of multiple telesurgery procedures in Angola, with surgeons operating the Toumai system remotely to perform urological and gynecological procedures on patients at healthcare facilities in Luanda.[34] In June 2025, MicroPort MedBot conducted a radical prostatectomy procedure on a patient in Luanda, Angola, with urologist Vipul Patel operating the Toumai system remotely from AdventHealth Global Robotics Institute in Orlando, Florida.[35]
