Evonik inaugurates applied technology laboratory dedicated to medical devices in Shanghai

Evonik Industries opened its first application technology laboratory for medical devices. Located in Shanghai, China, the laboratory will provide support to medical device manufacturers, who use Evonik polymers in their projects.

Evonik’s RESOMER® and RESOMER® Select brands offer a range of biodegradable polymers that are widely used in a variety of medical devices such as orthopedic screws, plates, etc. Implanted devices designed with RESOMER® resorb without a trace in the body over six months to two years, eliminating the need for secondary surgery to remove the devices.

"The market for medical devices is becoming increasingly important to our health care business, in particular in China, where we expect strong growth over the coming years," commented Dr. Jean-Luc Herbeaux, head of the Health Care Business Line in the Nutrition & Care segment.

"Players in this high growth market are looking for partners who can help them not only with reliable supply of materials but also with support on how to best use these materials for their specific design and production needs. With this new laboratory, we are now in a position to provide this support timely and locally."

Main activities are expected to include selection of the most suitable RESOMER® product for the application, characterization of production process conditions (injection-molding and extrusion) for successful design and scale-up, and finally manufacturing of technical samples for feasibility studies. "Our goal is to help our customers design and scale up medical devices faster," explains Herbeaux.

First customer projects will start in the coming weeks. New applied technology laboratories for medical devices are planned in other regions. Next planned opening is in Darmstadt, Germany to serve the European market.