Olympus Corporation

Olympus is a leading manufacturer of professional optocyphs products and uses advanced technologies in the fields of visual and sound display, endoscopy, microscopy, bioanalysis and diagnostics.

Olympus Corporation is headquartered in the Japanese capital, Tokyo; the number of employees in the world exceeds 30,000.

There are representative offices in the USA (Center Valley, Pennsylvania) and Europe (Hamburg, Germany).

Medical Business Structure

In January 2019, Olympus announced a reorganization of the medical business. Instead of five segments, the division's activities were divided into two: Endoscopic Solutions and Therapeutic Solutions.

Endoscopic Solutions will develop endoscopic equipment, including for gastrointestinal and respiratory research, as well as tools for endoscopic surgery. In addition, the corresponding software and system integration services, systems for automatic re-processing of the endoscope, etc. have been transferred to this unit.

Olympus has reorganized the medical business, leaving two areas

Endoscopic Solutions will still be run from Japan, but operate in the global market. The division still has enterprises around the world and plans to invest in expanding existing processes and infrastructure.

The structure of Therapeutic Solutions will be managed from the United States, thanks to which Olympus will be closer to the world's largest market for therapeutic devices, where the company's largest customers work and healthcare is highly developed. The activities of the division will cover different countries.

Therapeutic Solutions will create and develop disposable single-use endotherapeutic devices for the gastrointestinal and respiratory tract, surgical, otorhinolaryngological, urological and gynecological devices.^[1]

Through an organizational update, Olympus expects to focus its business strategies and cost structure to optimize their potential for more timely and efficient products.

The press release also notes that the business models of Endoscopic Solutions and Therapeutic Solutions are radically different, and the reorganization should ensure fast and careful business management, increasing Olympus' competitiveness among global medical device manufacturers.

Business in Russia

• Olympus in Russia (Olympus Moscow)
• Olympus Training Center

Performance indicators

2016: Profit growth of 25% thanks to sale of medical assets

On May 2, 2017, Olympus summed up the financial year, which ended on March 31, 2017. Net income jumped a quarter on one-time revenue from medical asset sales.

The company's revenue and operating profit decreased by 7% and 27%, amounting to 748 and 76.4 billion yen ($6.67 billion and $681 million), respectively. The main reason for the decline was the currency factor, the company explained, adding that without taking into account exchange rate losses, both indicators would have grown by 2% due to stable results in the medical business, which is the main focus of Olympus.

Olympus logo on headquarters building

Also, the Japanese vendor reported a 25 percent increase in net profit: the figure reached 78.2 billion yen ($697 million), mainly due to additional income received from the sale of shares in the Japanese manufacturer of medical devices Terumo Corporation.

In addition, the Olympus report contains a forecast for the current financial year, which will last until March 31, 2018 calendar. The company expects a net profit of 55 billion yen ($489 million) and expects to increase sales to 766 billion yen ($6.8 billion), and operating profit to 79 billion yen ($702.5 million).

It is worth noting that since 2016 Olympus has been implementing a five-year plan, the purpose of which is to turn the company into one of the key players in the market for diagnostic and therapeutic medical equipment. Among the priority areas of Olympus are endoscopic equipment and medical imaging tools. Thanks to the medical business, Olympus's revenue by 2021 should rise to 1.1 trillion yen ($9.8 billion), Nikkei reports.^[2]

In addition, within the framework of two other key divisions - Scientific Solutions Business (scientific equipment, including microscopes) and Imaging Systems Business (photographic equipment) - the company intends to continue the development of advanced scientific and optical technologies.^[3]

History

2024: Olympus chief Stefan Kaufman turns out to be a drug addict and forced to leave the company

At the end of October 2024, the CEO of the Japanese optical equipment manufacturer Olympus Stefan Kaufman resigned due to allegations of illegal drugs. Read more here.

2023

Olympus laser bronchoscopes cause burns. The company acknowledged the problem and spoke about the reasons

On November 9, 2023, Olympus released clarifications and recommendations regarding reports of cases of endobronchial burn during therapy with the company's bronchoscopes. It is noted that medical institutions can continue to use equipment subject to operational requirements. Read more here.

Recall of insufflators after patient's death

On October 18, 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the recall of defective Olympus injectors. The use of these devices can harm the health of patients and even provoke a fatal outcome. Read more here.

The US authorities convicted Olympus of falsifying documents in the production of endoscopes. They are sold non-sterile

On March 15, 2023, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sent Olympus another warning letter regarding falsified endoscopes and accessories for them. Read more here.

Purchase of a manufacturer of gastrointestinal stents for $370 million

At the end of February 2023, Olympus announced the acquisition of Korean gastrointestinal stent manufacturer Taewoong Medical for $370 million. Read more here

The authorities convicted the company of improper quality control of its products

On January 10, 2023, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced warning letters that were sent to the Olympus Medical System and Aizu Olympus in December and November 2022, respectively. Companies are convicted of improper quality control of their products.

We are talking about endoscopes. During inspections of Olympus Medical and Aizu Olympus in Tokyo and Fukushima, FDA specialists found that these companies did not comply with the established requirements in terms of testing products and documenting the assembly process. In addition, as they say, Olympus Medical did not develop reporting procedures for medical devices in accordance with the established standards and did not provide them to the regulatory authority within the required time frame.

Olympus products declared unsafe for use

Olympus produces surgical and gastrointestinal endoscopes, as well as automatic endoscope reprocessors (serve to clean and disinfect the medical instrument). Endoscopes can be reused if they are properly cleaned and disinfected. However, in 2015, Olympus Medical was embroiled in a scandal when it turned out that the company's duodenoscopes could introduce infections into the body. And now it became known that Olympus Medical recalled urethero-renofibroscopes and ureterorenovideoscopes in response to complaints of malfunctions. At the same time, the company did not send an appropriate notification to the FDA, as required by law. In response to the letters of the regulator, the companies promised to improve the reporting system and conduct the necessary briefing of staff.

The company is committed to continuously improving its quality system to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and full regulatory compliance, Olympus said in a statement.[4]

2022

Odin Vision Purchase

On December 20, 2022, Olympus Corporation 'Olympus announced the purchase of Odin Vision, a developer of cloud endoscopy technology with artificial intelligence. The total amount of the transaction is $79 million in the form of advance and phased payments. Read more here

Sale of Microscope Division

At the end of August 2022, Olympus Corporation announced the sale of the microscope division of the investment company Bain Capital for 427.6 billion yen or more than $3 billion. This is the largest transaction to sell part of its assets in the history of the Japanese vendor.

The agency Reuters notes that Olympus decided to get rid of the division, which also produces industrial endoscopes and X-ray analyzers, as part of the company's re-organization, as a result of which it is planned to focus exclusively on medical technologies.

Under the terms of the agreement, Olympus's microscopic business will come under the control of Bain Capital on January 4, 2023, after approvals from antitrust authorities in Japan and abroad.

The sale of the division, which also makes industrial endoscopes and X-ray analyzers, comes as Olympus is accelerating a review of its business portfolio to focus solely on medical technology.

With 165 billion yen at the end of June 2022, the unit predicted operating profit of 26.5 billion yen in the current financial year.

Olympus said in a statement that the transfer of the division to the investment fund Bain Capital is in its interests and will allow the business to develop, making more prompt and flexible decisions depending on the needs of the market.

According to knowledgeable sources, companies such as Carlyle Group and KKR were among the contenders for the purchase, but Bain Capital outperformed competitors.

In recent years, Japanese conglomerates have been disposing of non-core assets and Bain Capital has enjoyed opportunities. In particular, the investment company owns flash memory manufacturer Kioxia Holdings and entered the second round of trading for the right to acquire Toshiba Corp.

During its reorganization, Olympus invited activist investor ValueAct Capital to the board of directors, bought several foreign manufacturers of medical equipment, and also sold a digital camera business, which for a long time brought it losses.

The stock market is reacting positively to the changes taking place in the company: since the beginning of 2019, when Olympus embarked on reforms, its share price has almost tripled.^[5]

2021

Creation of a fund for $50 million investment in medical tech

In mid-November 2021, Olympus announced the creation of a fund called Olympus Innovation Ventures, which was created with the aim of investing startups in the field of medical technology. Touchdown Ventures will help manage the fund. Read more here.

IT shutdown due to massive cyber attack

In mid-October 2021, Olympus suspended the work of its IT systems due to the next. attacks hackers The company continues USA To Canada to investigate the incident that affected systems in and Latin America.

As part of the investigation, we suspended the affected systems and informed relevant external partners. Current findings from our investigation indicate that the incident was contained in the Americas without any known impact on other regions, Olympus said in a statement.

The Company engages third parties in the investigation and continues to take all necessary measures to safely serve customers and business partners.

Olympus shut down its IT systems after repeated cyber attack

The latest incident follows another cyber attack the company reported on September 11, 2021.

Egnyte cybersecurity specialist Neil Jones notes that the second cyber attack on a tech giant like Olympus in just a month should be a serious wake-up call: no major global corporation should rule out the possibility of ransomware attacks.

Senior executives and IT executives should also be aware that no technology solution is 100% effective, but a large percentage of ransomware attacks can be prevented with careful preparation, Jones said.

He added that even in technologically sophisticated organizations such as Olympus, the methods and tools used do not meet the requirements of security and control to combat current threats.

Brett Callow, an expert on ransomware and threat analyst at Emsisoft, does not exclude that the same persons who organized the attack on Olympus in September in the EMEA region are behind the latest attack. This time they could use not BlackMatter, but another ransomware.^[6][7]

BlackMatter ransomware virus attack

On September 8, 2021, Olympus was attacked by a ransomware virus, the company is investigating a cybersecurity incident affecting its computer network in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

But Olympus is recovering from a ransomware attack that ON began in the early hours of September 8, 2021, according to a person with knowledge of the incident. This person shared the details of the incident before Olympus recognized it officially only on September 11, 2021.

Following the discovery of suspicious activity, we immediately mobilised a specialist response team, including forensic experts, and we are working to address this issue with the highest priority. As part of the investigation, we suspended data transfers in affected systems and informed relevant external partners, Olympus said in a statement.

Olympus attacked ransomware virus, hackers demand ransom

A ransom note left on infected computers claimed it was compiled by the BlackMatter group. The buyout memo also lists the address of a site accessible only through the Tor browser, which BlackMatter is known to use to connect with its victims.

Your network is encrypted and currently down. If you pay, we will provide you with programs to decrypt, the memo says.

Groups like BlackMatter lease access to their infrastructure, which various affiliates use to carry out attacks, and BlackMatter receives a share of the ransom being paid. Emsisoft also found technical links and matches in the code between Darkside and BlackMatter.

Ransomware groups like BlackMatter typically steal data from the company's network, then encrypt it and threaten to publish the files online unless a ransom is paid to decrypt it. Another site linked to BlackMatter, which the group uses to publish information about its victims and advertises stolen data, had no record of Olympus at the time of publication on September 13, 2021.

The Japanese company Olympus produces optical and digital reprographic technologies for medicine and biomedical sciences. Until recently, the company manufactured digital cameras and other electronics until it sold its struggling camera division in January 2021.

Olympus spokesman Christian Pott, said customer service was not affected but declined to comment further on the incident.^[8]

Purchase of the developer of the device for the treatment of prostate adenoma Medi-Tate

At the end of May 2021, Olympus acquired Medi-Tate, a developer of devices for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Read more here.

2020

Purchase of interventional pulmonogology systems developer Veran Medical Technologies (VMT)

In early December 2020, Olympus announced the acquisition of Veran Medical Technologies (VMT) for $340 million. The buyer draws up the transaction through his subsidiary - Olympus Corporation of the Americas (OCA). The purpose of the deal for Olympus is to strengthen its position in the medical device industry by expanding its therapeutic solutions division, according to a press release. Read more here.

Japan Industrial Partners купила Olympus Imaging

On June 24, 2020, Olympus announced the sale of its Imaging division, specializing in the development and sale of cameras and digital voice recorders. The business is being bought by Japanese investment fund Japan Industrial Partners (JIP), which previously acquired Vaio's computer assets from Sony. Read more here.

2019

Ex-head of Olympus Medical Systems avoids prison for concealing infections in medical equipment

At the end of May 2019, the former head of Olympus Medical SystemsHisao Yabe escaped imprisonment for hiding data on infection of medical devices produced by the company. Read more here.

Olympus will curtail the production of digital cameras

Olympus may cease production of digital cameras in the foreseeable future and completely change its business direction, according to the Japanese edition of the Business Journal Japan. The company itself has not yet commented on the information that has appeared, but the financial report published in February 2019 says only about serious losses, but not about the profits^[9].

Olympus in 2019 celebrates 100 years since its foundation. Meanwhile, it entered the photographic equipment market only in 1934, and it began with the production of lenses for cameras. Prior to this, from 1919 to 1934, the company produced only thermometers and microscopes.

Olympus released its first camera, called Semi-Olympus I, already in 1936. Now Olympus is one of the largest manufacturers of photographic equipment - in the Japanese market it has held the first place in the mirrorless camera segment for three years in a row, from 2015 to 2017 inclusive. Only in 2018, she lost the leadership to Canon.

On the world stage, the situation is different: according to Nikkei.com, Canon (market share 49.1%), Nikon (24.9%) and Sony (13.3%) are among the top three manufacturers in terms of sales of cameras with interchangeable optics. Olympus shares the remaining 12.7 percent share with all other companies, including Fuji, Olympus, Panasonic, Ricoh.

Since 2004, the company has been conducting two lines of business - the Olympus Imaging Corp. He is engaged in the development and production of binoculars, voice recorders, cameras, and Olympus Medical Systems Corp. includes the production and sale of medical systems.

The decision to leave the camera market may not be made by the company's management, but by its shareholders, most of whom live outside Japan. Today, Olympus continues to produce cameras, and so far there is a chance that this type of its activities will not be completely abolished - the company can only reduce its volumes and direct the released capacity to another area, possibly just medical.

Yasuo Takeuchi is the new CEO

In January 2019, Olympus announced a management update and simplification of its corporate structure. These changes favorably affected the quotes of the Japanese manufacturer of photographic equipment and medical equipment. 

In accordance with the personnel reshuffle at the highest level, Olympus Vice President and CFO Yasuo Takeuchi will become President and CEO, and Yasushi Sakai will take the place of the financial director. Read more here.

2018: $85 million fine for concealing infections in medical equipment

On December 10, 2018, Olympus pleaded guilty and agreed to pay $85 million to settle charges for hiding important information about medical equipment. The company did not file a report with U.S. regulators regarding infections related to duodenoscopes being manufactured and went on to sell medical devices used to examine the gastrointestinal tract.

According to the US Department of Justice, the unit of Olympus Medical Systems and Hisao Yabe, a former senior executive director of the company, pleaded guilty in federal court for distributing inappropriate medical equipment. The hearing was held in Newark, New Jersey. US District Judge Stanley Chesler sentenced Olympus to a fine of $80 million and confiscation of another $5 million.

Olympus will pay $85 million for keeping silent about infections in medical equipment

On December 10, 2018, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a new warning about the constant threat of infection when using reusable duodenoscopes. In preliminary studies, according to the FDA, 3% of samples taken from duodenoscopes by manufacturers tested positive for "high-hazard" bacteria such as E. coli, which are often associated with the development of various diseases.

Olympus, in a statement, said it had agreed to take steps to address errors in production regulation processes, and also recalled that the investigation did not reveal any direct harm to patients caused by the lack of timely reports provided. Yet at least 35 patients have died in U.S. hospitals since 2013 after developing infections linked to contaminated Olympus duodenoscopes, according to hospitals and public health officials.

Olympus issued a safety warning for duodenoscopes in Europe in 2013. But he did not warn U.S. hospitals of the risk of infection until 2015, when outbreaks of antibiotic-resistant infections were reported in Seattle, Pittsburgh and Los Angeles. In 2016, Olympus recalled its TJF-Q180V duodenoscopes and made changes to the manufacturing process to reduce the risk of contamination.

The company acknowledged that in 2012 and 2013, it failed to report to U.S. regulators on the risk of infection-related adverse events when using TJF-Q180V that had been observed in Europe. The U.S. Department of Justice reported that side effects not reported by Olympus included infection of 22 Pseudomonas aeruginosa patients in the Netherlands in early 2012 and infection of E. coli by three patients in France in November 2012.

Between August 2012 and October 2014, Olympus sent hundreds of duodenoscopes to the United States and received about $33 million in profit. Olympus' fine of $85 million is two and a half times Olympus' net profit from sales of unauthorized duodenoscopes.

Yabe's lawyer declined to comment. Nevertheless, it is known that the former executive director faces one year in prison and a fine of $100,000, and his hearing is scheduled for March 27, 2019. Prosecutors believe Yabe was personally responsible for the lack of reports relating to infections in the Netherlands when he was the company's top official. At the time, Yabe was the Olympus Division Manager for Quality Assessment, whose responsibility was to inform US regulators of adverse events. Yabe pleaded guilty.^[10]

2017: Death of 35 patients from infection in Olympus medical technician

At the end of July 2017, an American court ruled that Olympus Corporation should pay $6.6 million in damages to the Virginia Mason Medical Center, a Seattle-based clinic. From 2012 to 2014, an outbreak of superinfection occurred in this hospital, leading to patient deaths, caused by infected duodenoscopes manufactured by a Japanese vendor.

A duodenoscope is a fiber optic or video camera instrument designed to examine the inner surface of the duodenum.

According to the Daily Hornet, at least 35 patients in American hospitals have died from an infection transmitted by Olympus duodenoscopes. In 2016, the company recalled the devices to correct design flaws and supplement the instructions for their sterilization.^[11]

According to the FierceHealthcare portal, citing Kaiser Health News, the judges concluded that Olympus did not provide the hospital with the necessary instructions regarding the use and care of duodenoscopes, and also did not warn of risks in case of improper sterilization.^[12]

Olympus will pay $6.6 million for infected duodenoscopes that killed patients

At the same time, the court ruled that part of the guilt lies with the hospital itself, in connection with which the medical institution will have to pay $1 million to the family of one of the deceased patients. Also, the jury did not support the charges against Olympus that the design of its duodenoscopes - medical devices used to diagnose and treat diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, was initially defective.

The plaintiff in the case was Theresa Bigler, the wife of Richard Bigler, an oncologically ill patient who died in 2013, who contracted a fatal superbug of the Enterobacteriaceae family resistant to carbapenems (the strongest antibiotic) after duodenoscopy using the Olympus TJF-Q180V device. Lawyers for the family argue that the company's management notified the hospital too late about a defect in the design of the device, which made it difficult to properly clean and led to the development of a dangerous bacterium.

USA More than 25 lawsuits by patients and their families have been filed against Olympus in connection with the incident.^[13]

2011

Olympus president: Company has covered up major financial losses for decades

Shuichi Takayama, president of Olympus, admitted in November 2011 that the company had covered up major financial losses for several decades. He acknowledged that former executives of the company since the 1990s covered losses from dubious securities transactions with funds allocated for the purchase of assets at home and abroad. According to Takayama, the exact size of the frauds has not been established, but we are talking about billions of dollars "written off" to buy the British manufacturer of medical equipment Gyrus Group and three small Japanese firms at an inflated price, wrote The Wall Street Journal. It is possible that these events will be followed by court cases on suspicion of fraud. In addition, the shareholders of the Japanese company have the right to file claims against Olympus management in court.

Michael Woodford named company president

On April 1, 2011, Michael Woodford joined Olympus as President and Senior Director of Operations. Prior to that, the 50-year-old businessman oversaw the restructuring of large European companies. With vast experience behind him in setting up companies, cutting costs and boosting profits, Woodford plans to return Olympus returns within 12 to 18 months.

Woodford considers "unacceptable" the 15 billion yen in losses recorded over the past fiscal year (ended in March 2011) from the digital camera division. During this period, Olympus sold 8.1 million cameras, and now the manager is going to significantly increase the implementation of these devices.

1921-2006

In 1921, the Olympus trademark was registered.

In 1923, the thermometer business was sold and the company focused on the production of microscopes.

In 1934, the company began developing optics for cameras.

1936 The company began producing Zuiko-branded optics and its first camera, the Semi-Olympus I.

In 1942, the company focused on the production of optical products and was renamed Takachiho Optical Co., Ltd.

In 1947, the company was renamed Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.

1948 Release of Japan's first 35mm shutter camera

1949 The firm is renamed Olympus Optical Co., Ltd., and is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange

1949 The beginning of the development of a gastrocamera in conjunction with doctors from the University of Tokyo

1950 Creation of the world's first gastro chamber for taking photographs of the stomach

1966 Participation in the exhibition at the first international conference of the endoscopic society

1969 Creation of the world's first microcassette recorder "Zuiko Pearlcorder"

1981 "Olympus Optical Co., Ltd." becomes a member of the World Wildlife Conservation Organization

1982 The first ultrasonic endoscopic system was developed EU-M1

1983 Start of Mass Production of OES Series Sealed Fibroscopes

1985 Creation of the first video information endoscopic system EVIS-1

1986 Creation of a magneto-optical disk

1989 Start of serial production of industrial video endoscopes

1989 Creation of a flexible cystofibroscope of the OES series

1990 Creation of the world's first ultralight compact fully automatic camera of the "m" series (mu)

1996 Production of the first digital cameras "CAMEDIA C-800L/400L"

1997 Start of serial production of surgical stereo microscopes of the OME8000 series

1998 Start of sales of endoscopes for veterinary medicine EVIS-EXERA1999. Creation and start of serial production of the next generation video endoscopic system EVIS EXERA with NBI function

In 2003, it was decided to bring the company name in line with the brand name and the company was renamed Olympus Corporation. The company's modern name was taken after the mountains of Olympus, the home of all gods in Greek mythology.

In 2004, Olympus Corporation was reorganized:

• production and sales of binoculars, digital voice recorders, film and digital cameras were spun off into Olympus Imaging Corp.
• the manufacturing and sale of medical systems was spun off into Olympus Medical Systems Corp.

2006 Start of mass production of the next generation video system EVIS EXERA-2

1920: Release of Japan's first microscope

In 1920, the company released the first microscope in Japan called Asahi.

1919: Foundation of Takachiho Seisakusho for the production of microscopes and thermometers

October 12, 1919 - Olympus Corporation is founded by Takeshi Yamashita. Initially, the company was called Takachiho Seisakusho and specialized in the production of microscopes and thermometers.

Products

Digital SLRs

Olympus and Kodak created the 4:3 (Four Thirds System) standard for digital SLR cameras (U.S. Patent 6,910,814). The standard implies full compliance of cameras, lenses and other accessories from different manufacturers. 4:3 is not based on any previous standard such as Canon, Nikon, Pentax and Sony (Minolta), which are largely compatible with film cameras.

Cameras 2003 - Olympus E-1. With the release of the Olympus E-1, Olympus became the seventh member of the elite club of digital mirror manufacturers.

2004 - Olympus E-300

2005 - Olympus E-500

2006 - Olympus E-330, Olympus E-400

In January 2006, Olympus introduced the E-330 camera - for the first time in the DSLR market, the ability to frame on the LCD screen was implemented. Currently, almost all major manufacturers have DSLR digital cameras with the ability to view the LCD screen in their product line. In the description of the technical characteristics of the camera, this feature is usually referred to as "LiveView."

2007 год - Olympus E-410, Olympus E-510, Olympus E-3

2008 - Olympus E-420, Olympus E-520

2009 год - Olympus E-30, Olympus E-620, Olympus E-450

2010 - Olympus E-5

2011 - Olympus XZ-1

Notes