Originally Published EMDM January 2006
Industry News
Biodegradable Polymers Meet Bioactive Materials for Medical Implants
Brian Buntz
Two organizations have joined forces to develop medical platforms that combine biodegradable polymers with nanophase bioactive ceramics. A joint venture between Inion (Tampere, Finland) and Cambridge University’s Centre for Medical Materials (Cambridge, UK) will focus on combining Inion’s biodegradable polymers with nanophase bioactive ceramics under development at Cambridge. By integrating the university’s knowledge of biodegradable, bioactive, nanocomposite materials with Inion’s expertise in bioactive polymers, applications that support tissue functions can be more precisely tailored.
While Inion designs and manufactures biodegradable plates, screws, pins, and membranes that are used to enhance the healing of skeletal injuries, the Cambridge University centre focuses on materials for implantation. Conventional implantable materials are merely tolerated by surrounding tissue, but bioactive materials “are able to deliver results that match, and even improve, the body’s ability to heal,” according to Serena Best and Ruth Cameron, codirectors of the Cambridge Centre for Medical Materials.
Inion’s implants are made from proprietary biomaterials tailored to specific surgical applications. The partnership with Cambridge University will likely “provide greater breadth in the ability to develop next-generation biomaterials and medical implants,” explains Auvo Kaikkonen, Inion CEO. Biodegradable bioactive nanocomposite materials from Cambridge complement Inion’s own Optima Plus bioactive platform, which combines the company’s Optima polymers with n-methyl-pyrrollidone. It is expected that products from the partnership will be used for a range of clinical applications.
For more information, contact Inion, Lääkärinkatu 2, 33520 Tampere, Finland; phone: +358 3 2306600; fax: +358 3 2306601; e-mail: info@inion.com; Internet: www.inion.com.
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