Putnam, CT (June 2004) - Foster Corporation recently completed an agreement with Invibio® BioMaterial Solutions to market PEEK-CLASSIX® compounds to the biomedical markets. Foster will immediately begin offering PEEK-CLASSIX® custom compounds and colors for medical devices in short term contact with blood or tissue.
PEEK-CLASSIX®is a US Pharmacopoeia Class VI thermoplastic designed for medical device applications exposed to bodily fluids or tissue for less than 30 days, including catheters, surgical instruments, drug delivery systems and more. This polyaryletherketone has a unique combination of chemically resistance, strength, stiffness and toughness properties that make it ideal for many performance medical devices. Invibio® BioMaterial Solutions offers PEEK-CLASSIX® in black and white unfilled grades. With this agreement, medical and pharmaceutical companies can purchase custom formulations and colors through Foster Corporation.
According to Bret Mullens, Business Development Manager for Invibio®, "Foster's dedication and focus on providing customized polymer compounds to the biomedical markets is a perfect complement to our portfolio of core PEEK-CLASSIX® polymer grades. With this agreement, customers will have a significantly wider range of material solutions based on PEEK-CLASSIX® polymer."
Foster's Director of Sales and Marketing, Larry Johnson, is equally confident in the significance of this agreement to customers. "Medical devices are getting smaller while the demand for performance is increasing. In many cases, designs have been optimized and further advancements rely on unique materials such as PEEK-CLASSIX®. Our expertise in custom medical formulations will allow us to tailor PEEK-CLASSIX® compounds to individual requirements in cutting-edge applications," says Johnson.
Unfilled, PEEK-CLASSIX® has a tensile strength of 95 MPa, flexural modulus of 4 GPa, and tensile elongation at break of greater than 25%. Compounds can be formulated by Foster using a variety of additives including radiopaque filler, fiber reinforcements and a variety of color pigments.
Foster Corporation is a global market leader in design, development and delivery of specialty thermoplastic solutions for biomedical markets. The company also provides a broad range of material, process and design contract engineering services for these target markets. For more information, please call 860.928.4102.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:Dan Lazas
610.458.2038