Our Company

For more than 25 years, Boston Scientific has advanced the practice of less-invasive medicine by providing a broad and deep portfolio of innovative products, technologies and services across a wide range of medical specialties. These less-invasive medical technologies provide alternatives to major surgery and other medical procedures that are typically traumatic to the body. In less-invasive procedures, devices are usually inserted into the body through natural openings or small incisions and can be guided to most areas of the anatomy to diagnose and treat a wide range of medical problems.

A History of Innovation

What does it mean to be an innovator? It starts with a mission. Since its founding, Boston Scientific has been motivated by the belief that less-invasive medicine could help clinicians improve patient care by reducing risk, trauma, cost, procedure time and the need for aftercare. That mission began in the late 1960s, when co-founder John Abele acquired an equity interest in Medi-tech, Inc., a research and development company focused on developing alternatives to traditional surgery. Medi-tech’s first products, a family of steerable catheters, were introduced in 1969 and were used in some of the first less-invasive procedures. Versions of these steerable catheters are still used today. In 1979, Abele and Pete Nicholas partnered to buy Medi-tech and together formed Boston Scientific Corporation.

Boston Scientific Today

Today, with more than 25,000 employees and 26 manufacturing, distribution and technology centers, Boston Scientific remains true to its original mission. As the world’s largest medical device company dedicated to less-invasive medicine, Boston Scientific believes that each innovative product is the outcome of strong research and development, intelligent acquisitions, close collaboration with clinicians, outstanding operational and quality processes and a powerful global distribution channel. As a market leader in less-invasive medical devices delivering more than 13,000 products to clinicians in over 45 countries, Boston Scientific works every day to build the knowledge, processes and infrastructure it needs to identify opportunities, address new disease areas and support clinicians in advancing the practice of health care around the world.

At Boston Scientific, finding new ways to help patients live better lives is what we do – every one of us, every day. The medical solutions we pioneer enable people to go on living the lives they love. We help clinicians improve patients' lives by delivering innovative medical technologies that lead the world in quality, reliability and efficacy. It might be a way to use stents to treat carotid artery disease, a way to monitor heart devices remotely or a less-invasive way to open blocked arteries in the brain. At Boston Scientific, we never stop searching for more effective solutions, because we believe we can make life better.

Mission Statement

Boston Scientific's mission is to improve the quality of patient care and the productivity of health care delivery through the development and advocacy of less-invasive medical devices and procedures. This is accomplished through the continuing refinement of existing products and procedures and the investigation and development of new technologies that can reduce risk, trauma, cost, procedure time and the need for aftercare.

Values Statement

The growth and success of our organization is dependent upon the shared values of our people. They understand that business exists to serve the customer. We must learn, understand and live by a unified set of values that will guide us in a continually changing medical environment:

To provide our people with a strong understanding of our mission and shared values
To think like our customers and work hard on their behalf
To pay relentless attention to business fundamentals
To bring a commitment to quality and a sense of urgency to everything we do
To rely on one another, to treat each other well and to put the development and motivation of our people at the top of our priority lists
To encourage innovation, experimentation and risk-taking
To recognize bureaucracy as an archenemy and not allow it to inhibit our good sense of business and creative spirit
To provide shareholders with an attractive return through sustained high-quality growth
To recognize and reward excellence by sharing Boston Scientific's success with our employees

Additional Resources & Info

“It's interesting to look back at how we originally characterized who Boston Scientific was, what we did, what was important. It hasn't changed a bit, that's because the values are timeless ones: people, passion, commitment, conviction, integrity and a focus on patients.”

PETE NICHOLAS
Founder, Director and Chairman of the Board

“When we started out, the potential of less-invasive medicine to reduce risk, trauma, cost, time and aftercare was not obvious to many. But anytime someone challenges the established way of doing things, it's not welcomed right away. You have to be patient. We're still trying to convert marketplaces all over the world and in many different specialties. We're doing it with one goal in mind: providing benefits to doctors, to patients and, frankly, to society overall.”

JOHN ABELE
Founder, Director

How We Make Life Better »