A French success story


1982: SEFAM, the Research and Manufacturing Company specialized in Medical Equipment (in French: Société d’Etude et Fabrication d’Appareillage Medical), was founded Nancy.

1984: Based on an idea from doctor Jean Krieger (Strasbourg state hospital) and in collaboration with the Nancy Inserm unit 14 led by Professor Paul Sadoul, SEFAM develops the first Continuous Positive Airway Pressure device (CPAP) in Europe, a device designed to treat the Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSAS).

1993: SEFAM is a leader on the European market for the diagnosis and treatment of sleep disordered breathing and a leader in the French market for home respiratory assistance equipment. Over the years, SEFAM develops, manufactures and commercializes more and more innovative solutions to screen, treat, and monitor sleep disordered breathing as well as respiratory insufficiency:

  • Different models of CPAP (fixed pressure, automatic devices , devices with two levels of pressure support)
  • Devices for diagnosing sleep disordered breathing (RESPISOMNOGRAPHE, Mini SOMNO)
  • Home ventilators
  • Oxygen therapy equipment.

1994: The company joins the American company Puritan Bennett, a global leader in the manufacturing of respiratory equipment, opening the way to the American market. From this point until 2010, through the various acquisitions of its parent company (successively Purritan-Bennett, Nellcor, Mallinckrodt, Tyco, and finally Covidien), the Nancy-based factory kept focusing on the development and manufacturing of devices to diagnose and treat sleep disordered breathing including new product ranges:

  • HypnoPTT
  • GoodKnight 418
  • GoodKnight 420
  • Sandman.

2010: Pierrick Haan, the founder of SEFAM, buys back the ‘sleep disordered breathing treatment’ business, in total decline in those days, from American group Covidien.

2011: SEFAM develops of a new range of products, DreamStar, in order to re-enter the market.
This range receives the ‘Guaranteed Made in France’ label, certifying that the products are developed and manufactured in France, and guaranteeing extensive ‘savoir-faire’ expertise and high quality. 

2013: SEFAM commercializes EcoStar (an economical alternative to DreamStar).
In addition, SEFAM launches the SEFAM Connect technology, a telemonitoring platform to remotely monitor patients using CPAP. SEFAM sponsors and participates in the national ‘OPTISAS’ under the aegis of the French Pneumology Federation, a project to evaluate the benefits of telemonitoring of CPAP patients. 

2014: SEFAM launches a complete range of masks under the BREEZE brand, consisting of nasal, full face and nasal pillow masks.

2015: SEFAM launches the ‘InnovaTICs Dependence’ research and development project, supported by funding from Europe and the Lorraine region, aiming at the development of a range of connected home medical devices to monitor patients with chronic conditions.

2016: SEFAM gets a second wind: it creates a Scientific Council consisting of French medical doctors, key opinion leaders that it can call upon to develop its innovation strategy. In parallel, it adopts a new brand identity, redefining its positioning as a French company towards a more human healthcare and as a partner to doctors and home healthcare providers, dedicated to improving patients’ lives.

2017: This new positioning is illustrated by S.Box, a new hyperconnected positive pressure device, designed by creator Philippe Starck and developed in collaboration with SEFAM’s scientific advisers with the aim of providing a personalized care to the apnea patient. 

 

SEFAM in numbers

 Over 30 years of experience

 100% made in France

 A brand present in over 60 countries

70% of sales outside of France