Evonik Industries has launched a medical devices project house with its main campus in Birmingham, Alabama, US, along with a branch in Hanau, Germany. The aim of the company’s 11th project house is to develop new system solutions for medical technology and to expand the competencies of Evonik in the areas of biomaterials and polymers. Above all, it will address applications in implantology.
Evonik chief innovation officer Dr Peter Nagler said: "In the new medical devices project house, we are pooling and expanding the interdisciplinary competencies of Evonik in the area of medical technology and biomaterial research. By locating it in the US, we are continuing to internationalise our research and development activities."
The global medical technology market has a volume of €300bn and is posting annual growth rates of 6%. At 40%, the US accounts for a major proportion of this world market and US companies hold leading positions, above all in the area of implantology. Additional important markets for medical devices include Europe and Japan. Evonik is already a provider of targeted speciality applications in the area of medical technology. Examples are VESTAKEEP® PEEK and RESOMER® PLA, biocompatible synthetics for implant materials, and VESTAMID® Care, a polyamide moulding compound that is used, among other things, as catheter material. Additional products for medical technology applications include PMMA and methacrylate copolymers, which Evonik supplies under the brand name DEGACRYL®. They are used as a high-quality raw material for bone cement and dental applications.
Medical devices project house head Dr Rosario Lizio said: "Innovative solutions in medical technology, such as functional biomaterials, are excellently suited for meeting the demand for ever-more-compatible and safer medical products and for implementing new therapeutic concepts. Our location in Birmingham places our research at the centre of the highly attractive US market with great proximity to our customers. At the same time, we benefit from the expertise of the health care business line of Evonik, which manages the site in Birmingham."
Among other products, the health care business line manufactures polymers for medical devices and offers a broad service spectrum, ranging from active ingredients to intelligent drug delivery systems.