PITTSBURGH - Bayer MaterialScience has recently completed its acquisition of PolyBioMed Ltd., Sheffield, UK, thereby expanding its product portfolio for medical technology. PolyBioMed, formerly a subsidiary of Lombard Medical Technologies plc, provides polymer coatings, surface treatments and biomaterials to the medical device industry.
 
The acquisition gives Bayer MaterialScience access to application areas such as coronary drug-eluting stents, plus catheter systems for interventional cardiology, urology and neurology. The aim is to provide innovative materials that can enhance design, manufacturing and end-use performance for a variety of medical devices.
 
PolyBioMed’s coatings technologies are complimentary to Bayer MaterialScience’s existing polyurethane-based hydrophilic coating platform, allowing it to offer an extended portfolio of permanent and biodegradable surface modification techniques.
 
Included in the intellectual property Bayer MaterialScience AG has acquired are the rights to over 75 patents and patent applications. “Acquiring PolyBioMed’s coatings and surface treatment technologies will allow us to address unmet needs such as improved coatings adhesion on plastics or metal surfaces used in many medical devices,” said Michael Mager, Head of Medical Coatings & Adhesives, Bayer MaterialScience AG.