Covidien

Covidien established itself as a bold medtech trendsetter in 2014.

The company reportedly approached Medtronic with the idea of a merger that would essentially create a new entity, Medtronic plc, with headquarters in Ireland. The $42.9-billion megadeal hasn’t closed yet, and the U.S. Treasury put up some roadblocks to impede corporate inversions in September, but Covidien’s proactive attitude demonstrates that it understands the shifting landscape in the medtech world.

The combined firm will have access to parts of the hospital that neither Covidien nor Medtronic separately had before. Analysts have pointed out that scale is what matters today, and Covidien certainly seems to appreciate that.

And yet, Covidien is also nimble enough to see opportunities beyond the conventional medtech paradigm. It became the first medtech firm to foray into wearables when it bought Zephyr Technology, maker of a remote monitoring system to track heart rate, breathing rate, and posture, earlier this year.

[image courtesy of COVIDIEN]