DuPont and DSM plan joint venture for surgical biomedical materials

DuPont & Co. and Royal DSM NV have announced plans to form a joint venture to make advanced surgical biomaterials.

The joint venture will be named Actamax Surgical Materials LLC. Under the joint venture agreement, DuPont and DSM will each share a 50 per cent interest.

The business, which still requires approval from European Union regulators, will make products including surgical sealants, tissue adhesives, and adhesion barriers.

According to a DuPont press release, Actamax will build a comprehensive biomedical product portfolio using “patent-protected biodegradable hydrogel technologies”. DuPont said that early technology was developed using the company’s materials science and biotechnology capabilities, and that DSM will supply the medical polymer processing and manufacturing capabilities.

“Our platform of technologies will offer physicians and patients improved outcomes of surgery that will prevent post-operative complications while reducing health care costs,” said John Ranieri, vice president, DuPont Applied BioSciences. “Actamax will deliver a number of products that can be optimized for different surgical situations and clinical needs. The success DSM has had in the biomedical materials market makes them an ideal strategic partner for us to commercialize our technology portfolio.”

“The cooperation with DuPont is a great way to further boost our activities in the biomedical field,” said Christophe J. Dardel, president, DSM Biomedical. “In line with our open innovation strategy, this will allow us to combine the strengths of two leading companies to develop solutions to better address patient needs through material innovations.”