Evonik opens medical lab in Shanghai, more planned for other markets

Shanghai, China – Evonik Industries opened its first application technology laboratory for medical devices in Shanghai, with plans to open more sites elsewhere, including in Germany.

The facility will provide support to medical device manufacturers, who use Evonik polymers in their projects, said the German speciality chemical company in a press release on 19 Aug.

The lab’s main activities are to select the most suitable biodegrable polymers for the application, characterise production process conditions (injection-moulding and extrusion) for design and scale-up, and finally to manufacture technical samples for feasibility studies.

"The market for medical devices is becoming increasingly important to our healthcare business, in particular in China, where we expect strong growth over the coming years," said Jean-Luc Herbeaux, head of the healthcare business line in the nutrition & care segment.

"Our goal is to help our customers design and scale up medical devices faster," added Herbeaux.

According to Evonik, first customer projects will start in the coming weeks.

Evonik also confirmed that it had plans to open new applied technology labs for medical devices with the next one planned to open in Darmstadt, Germany to serve the European market.

The company'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 and plates.

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.