Apr 6 2006
SurModics, Inc., a leading provider of surface modification and drug delivery technologies to the healthcare industry, announced today that it has acquired intellectual property covering biodegradable polymer technology from Intralytix, Inc. The intellectual property relates to polyester-amide (PEA) biodegradable polymers, which naturally degrade in the body into amino acid components, the building blocks of proteins.
"SurModics continues to expand its technology offerings in the drug delivery arena," said Bruce Barclay, President and CEO of SurModics. "The acquisition of this technology brings to five the total number of biodegradable polymers suitable for site specific drug delivery available to our customers, and complements our durable polymer drug delivery platforms. As we increase our expertise in the area, we are expanding the potential applications of particular polymer classes with various drugs and other biological compounds. We believe the PEA biodegradable polymers we acquired from Intralytix position us well to provide new site specific drug delivery capabilities to a wide range of customers."
"PEA polymers are widely recognized as naturally biodegradable and biocompatible compounds," commented Dave Wood, Vice President and General Manager of Drug Delivery. "These new materials are capable of being formulated by blending, a significant advantage that allows us to rapidly fine tune the polymer composition to achieve optimal application-specific performance. SurModics has extensive experience in formulating polymer blends to optimize functionality for commercial medical applications. Additionally, our collaborative product development model, which includes expertise in coating and characterizing coated products, allows us to accelerate customers' speed to market. The combination of our broad polymer technology portfolio and exceptional development expertise positions us well to address a broad range of customer needs."