Our history
Innovation is part of our heritage and a key driver to our continued operational excellence.
Innovation is part of our heritage and a key driver to our continued operational excellence.
Wellspect was formerly part of Swedish Astra Tech, which had a dental business and a healthcare business. In 2011, Dentsply Sirona (previously Dentsply International), the world’s largest manufacturer of dental implants acquired Astra Tech. The dental business was merged into Dentsply, while a new monolithic brand was developed for the healthcare business which became known as Wellspect HealthCare. Wellspect is an industry-lead in the field of continence care. Making a real difference is tied to the history of our company. In 1983, we invented LoFric, the world's first hydrophilic catheter which revolutionized the catheter market and radically transformed the end-user experience. Innovation continues to be a cornerstone of our business. It underpins our mission to make a real difference, now and for the future.
1948 Company founded as a hospital wholesaler named AB Sjukvårdsutensilier
1957 Astra AB acquired the company
1976 Shift from wholesaler to medical device manufacturer with in-house R&D
1983 The launch of LoFric - the world’s first hydrophilic catheter
1990 Dental Implants was introduced as a business division
1992 The name Astra Tech was introduced
2011 DENTSPLY International Inc. acquired Astra Tech AB
2012 Wellspect HealthCare and DENTSPLY Implants were launched
2016 DENTSPLY International Inc. and Sirona merger
2022 Wellspect as a legal entity introduced
Born in Sweden 1983, LoFric was the world’s first hydrophilic catheter – a true revolution at the time. With LoFric, self-catheterization became a real, viable option for people with bladder problems. For nearly thirty years now, LoFric has improved the everyday for thousands of people around the world, helping them to lead a more balanced and independent life.
With its strong medical heritage within bladder management, Wellspect realized the need for innovative bowel care and developed a complete range of products for bowel care in 2016, under the name Navina. Since then, Navina bowel care products have helped thousands of people with chronic constipation and bowel leakage, while also enabling them to secure independence.
With Navina™ Smart and its accompanying electronic pump, Wellspect modernized the transanal irrigation (TAI) therapy- making it more precise and easier to follow-up.