Advanced Sterilization Products

Overview

Advanced Sterilization Products (ASP) is a prominent international healthcare technology company specializing in infection prevention solutions, terminal sterilization frameworks, and high-level medical disinfection equipment. Headquartered in Irvine, California, the enterprise engineers automated sterilization systems used to clean reusable surgical instruments, endoscopes, and complex clinical assets. Operating as a principal business unit within the Advanced Healthcare Solutions segment of Fortive Corporation, the brand serves as a standard for safeguarding patients against healthcare-associated infections (HAIs).

Technical Specifications

AttributeDetails
Manufacturer / OperatorAdvanced Sterilization Products (Subsidiary of Fortive Corporation)
Core Technology FocusLow-Temperature Hydrogen Peroxide Vapor Gas Plasma Sterilization
Primary Product LinesSTERRAD, STERRAD NX, STERRAD VELOCITY, BIOTRACE, EVOTECH
Core Monitoring IndicatorsBiological Indicators (BI), Chemical Indicator (CI) Strips and Tapes
Software Connectivity PlatformASP ACCESS Technology System
Corporate Headquarters Address33 Technology Drive, Irvine, California 92618

Description

Advanced Sterilization Products specializes in designing low-temperature terminal sterilization and high-level disinfection ecosystems for heat-sensitive medical devices. Traditional sterilization methods rely on high-pressure autoclaving steam, which can melt or degrade the delicate fiber-optics, electronics, and synthetic polymers used in modern minimally invasive surgical tools. ASP addresses this issue by using vaporized hydrogen peroxide ($VHP$) gas plasma technology to safely neutralize microbial life without leaving toxic residues or requiring lengthy aeration periods.

The primary product categories encompass:

  • Terminal Sterilization: The flagship STERRAD 100NX and STERRAD NX systems, which utilize an electromagnetic field to excite hydrogen peroxide vapor into a low-temperature gas plasma state, rapidly destroying biological contaminants on complex surgical tools.
  • High-Level Disinfection: Automated endoscope reprocessors (AER) like the ASP AEROFLEX and EVOTECH systems, engineered to automatically wash, high-level disinfect, and rinse flexible endoscopes.
  • Sterilization Monitoring: The STERRAD VELOCITY and BIOTRACE product lines, which use rapid-read biological indicators and chemical test strips to verify that a sterilization chamber has successfully achieved the correct diagnostic thresholds.
  • Workflow Connectivity: The ASP ACCESS cloud software layer, which integrates automated device data logs directly into hospital enterprise asset management systems to ensure compliance tracking.

History

The structural foundations of the company were established in 1987 by a group of specialized research scientists in Texas who pioneered the concept of using hydrogen peroxide gas plasma for rapid, low-temperature device decontamination. Recognizing the commercial potential of this process for the medical field, Johnson & Johnson absorbed the engineering group, officially forming Advanced Sterilization Products as an operating division within its Ethicon surgical subsidiary. The firm achieved a historic milestone in 1993 by securing FDA clearance for the landmark STERRAD 100 system, which revolutionized sterile processing departments by eliminating reliance on toxic ethylene oxide ($EtO$) gas lines.

Throughout the 2000s and 2010s, ASP continually refined its plasma delivery mechanics, rolling out the compact STERRAD NX platform in 2005 and embedding ALLClear software logic to automatically detect moisture issues before initiating a sterilization loop. To streamline the clinical pipeline, the firm expanded into diagnostic tracking by engineering the STERRAD VELOCITY reader, drastically cutting traditional biological incubation verification windows down to fifteen minutes.

In June 2018, the public industrial technology conglomerate Fortive Corporation made a binding offer to acquire the business from Johnson & Johnson. The transaction was finalized in April 2019 for approximately 2.7 billion dollars in cash, placing ASP as the cornerstone asset within Fortive’s newly established Advanced Healthcare Solutions group.

Under Fortive ownership, the manufacturer utilized the continuous-improvement metrics of the Fortive Business System (FBS) to expand its footprint, notably pivoting its VHP technology during the COVID-19 pandemic to rapidly decontaminate and reuse N95 masks amid severe global personal protective equipment shortages. Led by executive President Chad Rohrer, the enterprise continues to scale its infection-control technologies, expanding its testing catalog with the acquisition of healthcare systems developer Hinno Technology.

Historical Timeline

YearEvent
1987Advanced Sterilization Products is officially established under Johnson & Johnson to commercialize alternative low-temperature sterilization processes.
1993ASP secures landmark FDA clearance for the original STERRAD 100 system, introducing the medical industry’s first vaporized hydrogen peroxide gas plasma sterilizer.
2005The company launches the STERRAD NX system, shrinking the core low-temperature gas plasma footprint into a compact, benchtop clinic configuration.
2007The high-capacity STERRAD 100NX system is released to support large-scale, high-throughput hospital sterile processing departments.
2018The brand introduces the STERRAD VELOCITY system, creating a rapid-read hydrogen peroxide biological indicator to verify sterilization cycles.
2019Fortive Corporation completes a public transaction to buy Advanced Sterilization Products from Johnson & Johnson for 2.7 billion dollars in cash.
2020ASP rolls out an emergency software upgrade allowing hospitals to use existing STERRAD machines to decontaminate protective N95 respirators.
2025The firm launches the BIOTRACE Instant Read Steam Biological Indicator system, delivering validated testing results in seven seconds.

References

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