The collection documents Manny Villafaña, inventor, entrepreneur and founder of several medical device companies since 1971. The majority of the collection pertains to St. Jude Medical, which introduced the mechanical heart valve technology that became the industry standard.
Scope and Contents:
The collection consists of 10 cubic feet of material documenting Manny Villafaña, an inventor and entrepreneur. The bulk of the collection is comprised of correspondence and clippings related to his professional life. There are a few personal items in the collection, such as a St. Jude prayer card, included with the records of St. Jude Medical and a photograph of Villafaña (1988) at the construction site of the Basilica of St. Mary.
Biographical / Historical:
Manny Villafaña (b. 1940- ) began his career in medical technology as a salesman for Medtronic, Inc., exploring the potential market in Argentina. Upon his return to the U.S. Villafaña went on to found Cardiac Pacemakers Inc. and later St. Jude Medical. During the decade following the founding of CPI, Manny Villafaña business savvy and medical technology know-how would propel him to celebrity in the Minnesota business community and national entrepreneurial scene. Some of the technology introduced by Villafaña's companies, such as the St. Jude's pyrolytic bileaflet artificial heart valve, have become industry standards. Villafaña would eventually found seven medical technology companies, with Kips Bay being the most recent.
Related Materials:
Materials at the Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Wilson Greatbatch Innovative Lives Presentation, 1996 (ACNMAH 0601)
James A. E. Halkett and Sigmund A. Wesolowski, M.D., Papers, 1948-1951 (ACNMAH 0220)
Van Phillips Oral History and Papers, 1991-2004 (ACNMAH 0859)
George Edward Burch Papers, 1984-1986 (ACNMAH 0316)
James A. E. Halkett and Sigmund A. Wesolowski, M.D., Papers, 1948-1951 (ACNMAH 0220)
Materials at Other Organizations
Conversazione, November 20, 1997, January 21, 1998 and May 20, 1998. Oral history is on file at the Minnesota Historical Society.
Separated Materials:
Related heart valves are in the Division of Medicine and Science, National Museum of American History. See Accession 2015.003.
Provenance:
Collection donated by Manny Villafaña on January 29, 2015.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
This series contains organizational documents, annual reports, stock reports and a licensing agreement with CarboMedics Inc. Helix Biocore was founded by Villafaña in 1987 and is known for integrating mammalian cell proteins and fiber cartridge culture technology into artificial heart valve design.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Manny Villafaña Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
This series contains an interview with NatWest Securities, a press kit, press releases, stock reports, and correspondence with physicians and researchers. ATS Medical was founded in 1992 and developed a pyrolytic carbon bileaflet mechanical heart valve patented as the Open Pivot Valve.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Manny Villafaña Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
