In 1997 the acquisition of the paracorporeal device with the name “Berlin Heart” (now EXCOR®) from the company Fehling Medical AG took place. The Mediport Berlin Heart GmbH Kardiotechnik was founded.

In order to make VAD patients independent from hospitals and allow them to live their life with such a device at home, a smaller, mobile driving unit was developed in 1997. The CE approval and introduction to the market followed in 1999.

August 2000 saw the Mediport Berlin Heart GmbH Kardiotechnik melt with the parent company Mediport Kardiotechnik GmbH resulting with the foundation of the newly founded Berlin Heart AG.

In June 2002 the worldwide first implantation of the INCOR® device took place in the German Heart Centre DHZB. The CE approval for Berlin Heart INCOR® was granted after 9 months of clinical testing on March 21st 2003.During the ISRBP Congress (International Society for Rotary Blood Pumps) which took place in Bad Oeynhausen, our INCOR® device was awarded with the ICMT-Award (International Centre for Medical Technologies) for being the most innovative product.

By July 2005 no less than 200 INCOR® devices had been already implanted. In September 2005, Berlin Heart AG could report another milestone with regard to long term therapy of VAD INCOR® – one patient is living with the device for 3 years.

Berlin Heart AG plies its trade in two plants. The headquarters in Wiesenweg 10 hosts the administration, research and development, marketing and sales and the manufacturing of INCOR®, EXCOR® cannulas and driving units. The production of the EXCOR® blood pumps is effected in the plant in Usedomer Strasse in the district Berlin Wedding.

Berlin Heart Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Berlin Heart AG, was founded in October 2005. At present, Berlin Heart Inc. supports the entry into the US market with three employees. The on-site presence ensures optimal support of the US clinics in emergency cases and allows close cooperation with the FDA.

Originally founded as a private equity company, Berlin Heart was acquired in October 2006 by Syscore GmbH, a long-term investor concentrating on the medical technology sector. With this New investor Berlin Heart seeks to accelerate the growth of its INCOR^® and EXCOR^® business and further build on the position in the US market. The University of Alberta Hospital/ Stollery Children's Hospital will be a training and reference center for the US and Canadian market. The longstanding successful cooperation with the German Heart Institute in Berlin will be continued. 

As part of the transaction, Berlin Heart's legal structure was changed from an AG to a GmbH, thus enabling a faster and more flexible response to market developments.