Innovation is inherent in everything we do ... from strategic planning to market insight, from customer collaboration to product development, from upstream market development to acquisition and operating alignment. We instill innovation as fundamental part of our organization because we are committed to being "the" pelvic health company that physicians and their patients rely on for life-changing solutions. The proof of our passion for continuous innovation lies in our patents. Our engineers have filed more patents in the last five years than in our previous 25+ years combined. A result expected from an organization that considers itself the industry benchmark.
Innovation is one of AMS' six dimensions—one of the fundamental ways we define ourselves. With good reason: We are committed to being the market-leading innovator... the pelvic health device company that physicians seek to collaborate, test and bring new products and procedures to the marketplace.
We have a global presence that enables us to develop lasting relationships with physicians across the world. Through the ongoing exchange of ideas and challenges, we are quick to identify new opportunities for product development. What's more, our sales team actively encourages physicians to share their ideas with us. Physicians appreciate that we move quickly to consider their ideas, providing the resources and expertise to bring their innovations to market.
Physicians work directly with our development team in the operating room and onsite at AMS to develop the devices and refine the treatment procedures. In addition, our developers are in the same facility as the manufacturing model makers and the production team. The result of this close collaboration? The devices move quickly through the development process—far faster than if we did not have such a carefully orchestrated environment.
One example of our commitment to innovation is our market-defining work with female pelvic health. Through extensive, worldwide research, we learned that physicians faced a challenge in treating prolapse: there were no standard therapies; there were few physicians leading this exploration; and there were inconsistent results causing patients treated once to have to undergo repeat treatment.
After listening to patients and their physicians, our engineers translated their market needs into two dynamic solutions—PerigeeTM and ApogeeTM. Distinct in their therapy approach to treat pelvic organ prolapse, these devices are also designed to have a similar feel and usage as our other products, making it easier for physicians to use them confidently. Through our research, we learned that often more than one condition hinders a woman's quality of life. That's why we have created a full suite of solutions that treat a woman's entire pelvic floor, a category we defined.
In addition to organic innovation, we also pursue strategic acquisitions as a means of innovation. We identify companies that have the best clinical outcomes—evolving leaders in their own markets that have a model, approach and a product offering that meet our stringent parameters.
We invest in the ideas and organizations that deliver the market-leading treatments to enhance our portfolio. The recent acquisitions of TherMatrx® for prostate disease and Her Option® for excessive menstrual bleeding are examples of our acquired innovations that expand our market presence and leadership with regard to in-office treatments. What's more, these acquisitions have helped expand our range of solutions that are minimally invasive and can be performed in the comfort of a doctor's office, a forward-thinking strategy that appeals to patients and physicians alike and one that we intend to expand on as we seek out the next exciting new offering.
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