The story
History
Edwards Lifesciences was originally founded by electrical engineer Miles "Lowell" Edwards in 1958, a graduate of Oregon State University. Edwards invented the first medically proven and adopted artificial heart valve. Dr. Albert Starr, a surgeon at the Oregon Health and Sciences University, is credited as the first to successfully implant the Starr-Edwards mitral valve in a patient in 1960. As a result of the successful heart implant, Edwards established manufacturing in Santa Ana, California the same year to continue his research in pulmonary devices.
Edwards' valves are still in operation today. An early patient lived a record 48 years with the implant before requiring a replacement.
Edwards was acquired by Baxter in 1985. It was spun off from Baxter in 2000.
In 2017, Edwards completed the acquisition of Valtech Cardio for $340 million. Also in 2017, Edwards acquired Harpoon Medical of Baltimore, Maryland for $100 million. Harpoon, founded in 2013, developed a minimally invasive heart surgery product for mitral valve repair to treat degenerative mitral regurgitation. At the time of the acquisition, the product was not available on any market.
On April 18, 2019, Edwards completed the acquisition of CAS Medical Systems of Branford, Connecticut for ~$100 million.
Edwards Sapien 3 and Sapien 3 Ultra Transcatheter Heart Valve systems were FDA-approved for the treatment of patients at low risk for death or major complications associated with open-heart surgery on August 16, 2019. These products are used to treat patients with severe aortic stenosis without utilizing open-heart surgery.
In 2020, Edwards co-sponsored the Virtual ISPOR-FDA Summit centered on patient preference information in medical device regulatory decisions.
In December 2021, the FDA approved the SAPIEN 3 transcatheter valve in combination with the Alterra adaptive prestent for the treatment of severe pulmonary regurgitation.
Read the full text
In February 2024, the FDA approved Edwards' EVOQUE tricuspid valve replacement system, the first transcatheter therapy approved in the United States for the treatment of tricuspid regurgitation. In May 2024, Edwards launched the SAPIEN 3 Ultra RESILIA valve in Europe.
In June 2024, the company received FDA approval for a new implant designed to manage heart failure issues, called the Cordella pulmonary artery sensor.
In July 2024, Edwards made agreements with Affluent Medical for an equity stake, IP licensing and an exclusive option to acquire its Kephalios subsidiary. The same month, Edwards announced it would acquire Innovalve Bio Medical for approximately $300 million, and JenaValve Technology and Endotronix for $1.2 billion.
In August 2024, Edwards acquired JC Medical from Genesis MedTech, gaining its J-Valve transcatheter aortic valve replacement system for the treatment of aortic regurgitation.
In 2023, Edwards announced that its critical care business unit would be spun off into a separate entity. In June 2024 Edwards instead agreed to sell the unit to BD for $4.2 billion. The sale closed on September 3, 2024.
In May 2025, the FDA approved the SAPIEN 3 platform, including the SAPIEN 3, SAPIEN 3 Ultra, and SAPIEN 3 Ultra RESILIA valves, for the treatment of severe aortic stenosis in asymptomatic patients, marking the first FDA approval of TAVR therapy for this patient population.
In September 2025, Edwards completed the full acquisition of heart failure monitoring company Vectorious Medical Technologies.
In January 2026, the FDA approved the SAPIEN M3 mitral valve replacement system, the first transcatheter mitral valve replacement therapy using a transseptal approach to receive FDA approval for the treatment of mitral regurgitation.
Edwards Lifesciences Foundation
The Edwards Lifesciences Foundation launched in 2014 and supports programs designed to treat underserved people to reduce heart valve disease.
Since the initiative launched in 2014, Edwards and its foundation have contributed more than $100 million in financial and technology donations through "Every Heartbeat Matters" (EHM), reaching over 4 million underserved structural heart patients globally.
From Wikipedia’s article on Edwards Lifesciences, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.6