Sigma-Aldrich signs distribution agreement with Boehringer Ingelheim
Customers offered expanded biodegradable polylactide polymers range
Sigma-Aldrich has signed a distribution agreement with Boehringer Ingelheim, Germany, to offer its Resomer biodegradable polylactide (PLA) and poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) polymers to research chemists.
The polymers will be available with chemically identical GMP materials for scale-up and commercialisation from Boehringer Ingelheim.
PLA and PLGA polymers are biodegradable polyesters that degrade in the body by simple hydrolysis of the ester backbone to non-harmful and non-toxic compounds.
The Resomer polymers are currently applied as surgical sutures and resorbable implants, with the possibility of expanding their use to drug encapsulation and delivery applications.
‘PLA, PLGA and their copolymers are some of the most frequently used polymer materials studied for biomedical applications with properties that can be tuned by changing the polymer composition within the basic PLA/PLGA theme,’ said Ilya Koltover, market segment manager for Aldrich Materials Science. ‘These polymers have been used successfully in a number of approved medical applications, making them a fundamental platform technology for biomaterials research.’
There are 12 Resomer PLA/PLGA copolymers, as well as a related biodegradable polymer poly(dioxanone), with plans for future expansion. The new portfolio complements Aldrich’s current selection of polymers for biomedical applications, which includes an extensive offer of functionalised poly(ethylene glycol) PEG polymers and natural biocompatible polymers.
