Mar 7 2006
SurModics, Inc., a leading provider of surface modification and drug delivery technologies to the healthcare industry, announced today that it has obtained an option to acquire a license with exclusivity in defined fields from InnoCore Technologies BV to the SynBiosys(TM) polymer system - a family of biodegradable polymers for use in the site specific delivery of drugs from medical devices.
"Building upon the broadest range of technology offerings in the drug delivery arena remains a key goal for SurModics," said Bruce Barclay, President and CEO of SurModics. "Our customers continue to express strong interest in biodegradable polymers for various applications. The SynBiosys family of biodegradable polymers from InnoCore allows us to offer our customers another outstanding technology platform to further the development of their site specific drug delivery products."
The SynBiosys polymer system is a family of patent-pending biodegradable multi-block copolymers that is based on novel combinations of well-known and regulatory approved building blocks, such as lactide, glycolide, caprolactone and polyethylene glycol. Its biodegradability, biocompatibility and easily programmable release characteristics make it an excellent platform for the controlled release of a broad range of biologically active compounds, such as peptides and small to medium sized molecules. In initial studies, InnoCore developed a 6-month release formulation of a peptide using the SynBiosys polymer system, which showed true zero-order kinetics without initial burst release. It has further been demonstrated that the polymers can be made into various product configurations, such as coatings, membranes, microspheres, rods and gels.
"We are delighted to be working with SurModics," said Theo Flipsen, Managing Director and CEO of InnoCore. "We are very proud of the SynBiosys polymer system we have developed at InnoCore, and we believe SurModics will help accelerate the adoption of our polymers within the medical device industry."
"SurModics is very pleased to be working with InnoCore," commented Dave Wood, Vice President and General Manager of Drug Delivery. "The SynBiosys polymer system will contribute significantly in satisfying our customers' continuing desire to deliver peptides and small molecule drugs from their devices. Further, our collaborative development model, along with the strong capabilities of the InnoCore team, allows us to accelerate our customers' speed to market compared to their other options."