Thoratec Corporation

What Thoratec Corporation does

Thoratec Corporation was a medical device company founded in 1979 and headquartered in Pleasanton, California, that developed, manufactured, and marketed circulatory support products for patients with advanced heart failure. Its flagship technology was the HeartMate line of left ventricular assist devices (LVADs), culminating in the third-generation HeartMate 3 LVAD — a continuous-flow mechanical circulatory support system used as bridge-to-transplant or destination therapy for end-stage heart failure patients. The company built its franchise on proprietary continuous-flow pump technology, decades of clinical evidence, and a specialized implanting-center sales model targeting cardiac surgeons and cardiologists at hospitals and cardiac care centers. In 2015, Thoratec was acquired by Abbott Laboratories and its products now operate within Abbott's global cardiovascular division, which distributes them through an enterprise field sales organization across the U.S., Europe, Asia-Pacific, and other regions. The company's revenue model is based on hardware sales of LVAD systems and related equipment to healthcare institutions, with pricing handled through institutional procurement and reimbursement processes rather than disclosed list pricing. In 2014, prior to its acquisition, Thoratec expanded its technology portfolio through the acquisition of Apica Cardiovascular. More recently, Abbott has continued to invest in the HeartMate 3 ecosystem, including a March 2025 partnership with Cadrenal Therapeutics to advance anticoagulant therapy clinical trials for HeartMate 3 patients.

Name

Thoratec Corporation

Website

https://thoratec.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1976

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Thoratec Corporation developed and manufactured left ventricular assist devices, most notably the HeartMate 3 LVAD, for patients with advanced heart failure. Founded in 1979 and acquired by Abbott Laboratories in 2015, it now operates within Abbott's global cardiovascular division.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cardiac Assist Devices

NAICS

Electromedical and Electrotherapeutic Apparatus Manufacturing (334510), Medical Equipment and Supplies Manufacturing (3391)

SIC

Electromedical & Electrotherapeutic Apparatus (3845), Surgical & Medical Instruments & Apparatus (3841)

akta.pro primary industry

Mechanical Circulatory Support (VAD, IABP, ECMO) (HLAHAFAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cardiac Assist & Heart Failure Therapies (Implantables, Neuromodulation) (HLAHAFAL), Heart Failure & Transplant Cardiology (HLAKABAD)

Keywords

• Left ventricular assist devices
• Mechanical circulatory support
• Cardiac assist devices
• Heart failure therapy
• Ventricular assist technology

Headquarters

HQ city

Pleasanton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Cardiac Medical Device Sales: Sale of left ventricular assist devices and related cardiovascular medical equipment to healthcare institutions

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Thoratec Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets mechanical circulatory support medical devices for patients with advanced heart failure. Its principal product is the HeartMate 3 left ventricular assist device (LVAD), a third-generation continuous-flow LVAD used as bridge-to-transplant or destination therapy in healthcare institutions and cardiac care centers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• HeartMate 3 LVAD A left ventricular assist device (LVAD) for patients with advanced heart failure requiring mechanical circulatory support, used by hospitals, cardiac care centers, and cardiac surgeons as bridge-to-transplant or destination therapy.

Quantifiable outcome

• Global LVAD market growth to $2.78 billion by 2030 at 10% CAGR

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Cadrenal TherapeuticscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2025Abbott Laboratories partnered with Cadrenal Therapeutics in March 2025 to support a clinical trial of tecarfarin for HeartMate 3 LVAD patients, aiming to advance anticoagulant therapies for cardiovascular device patients.
• St Vincent's Hospital SydneycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2023CorWave SA successfully implanted its Left Ventricular Assisting System in a patient at St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney in September 2025, meeting primary safety and efficacy endpoints without device-related adverse events at 30 days.
• Translumina (acquiring Blue Medical Devices)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2023German cardiovascular device manufacturer Translumina acquired Netherlands-based Blue Medical Devices to incorporate its drug application technology into Translumina's product range in June 2023.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Edwards Lifesciences: Edwards Lifesciences is a leading structural heart and critical care medtech company. While its core focus is transcatheter heart valves and hemodynamic monitoring, it competes with Abbott/Thoratec in the broader advanced heart failure and surgical cardiology ecosystem.
• Medtronic: Medtronic acquired HeartWare in 2016 and now sells the HVAD system, directly competing with HeartMate 3 in mechanical circulatory support. It is a broad cardiovascular incumbent offering overlapping heart failure and structural heart solutions.
• Terumo Heart (Terumo Corporation): Terumo developed the DuraHeart and Terumo implantable ventricular assist systems. As part of Terumo Corporation, it operates as a broad cardiovascular incumbent that has competed with Thoratec in the implantable LVAD market.
• Abbott (Cardiovascular Division): Abbott is Thoratec's parent company and a broad cardiovascular incumbent. Its cardiovascular portfolio spans structural heart, electrophysiology, and now includes Thoratec's HeartMate franchise, making it both the parent and the broader competitive context.

Emerging players

• CorWave SA: CorWave is developing a next-generation left ventricular assisting system using a wave-membrane pump technology and reported successful first-in-human implants. It competes with Thoratec/Abbott's HeartMate 3 in the same advanced heart failure MCS category with a differentiated technology approach.
• Carmat (CARMAT SA): CARMAT is developing a bioprosthetic total artificial heart for patients with end-stage heart failure, an adjacent but overlapping patient population with Thoratec's LVAD recipients. It represents an emerging alternative mechanical circulatory support modality.
• LivaNova (CardiacAssist / TandemLife): LivaNova's TandemLife / ProtekDuo product line provides short-term mechanical circulatory support cannulas and consoles. While focused more on acute/percutaneous support, it competes in the broader mechanical circulatory support space where Thoratec's HeartMate 3 operates.

Direct peers

• Berlin Heart: Berlin Heart develops ventricular assist devices for pediatric and adult patients, including implantable and paracorporeal systems. It directly competes with Thoratec/Abbott in mechanical circulatory support for advanced heart failure, particularly in pediatric and small-patient indications.
• HeartWare International (Medtronic): HeartWare developed the HVAD ventricular assist system, directly competing with Thoratec's HeartMate line in mechanical circulatory support. HeartWare was acquired by Medtronic in 2016, making it a direct technology and commercial peer inside a larger incumbent.
• SynCardia Systems: SynCardia manufactures the SynCardia total artificial heart, a mechanical replacement for the native heart in end-stage biventricular failure patients. It is a direct peer in the mechanical circulatory support category serving transplant-eligible advanced heart failure patients.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/thoratec
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/thoratec

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Thoratec Corporation