Invibio and Upchurch Scientific Offer Pre-Certified PEEK-CLASSIX Polymer to Medical Device Market

Customers Benefit from Reduced Development Time and Costs Associated with Biocompatibility Testing and Regulatory Approvals

GREENVILLE, SC (PRWEB) September 1, 2004 -- Invibio®, a leading provider of biomaterial solutions to the medical device market, today announced an agreement with Upchurch Scientific Inc., a leading manufacturer of medical fittings, tubing and accessories, which will enable customers to purchase pre-certified, Invibio manufactured, PEEK-CLASSIX polymer directly from Upchurch Scientific.

PEEK-CLASSIX polymer is pre-certified to US Pharmacopoeia (USP) Class VI and ISO testing standards, enabling Upchurch Scientific customers to benefit from reduced development time and costs associated with biocompatibility testing and regulatory approvals. The agreement will enable Upchurch Scientific to offer their customers greater material and design solutions and extend Invibios customer base and distribution channel.

Invibios PEEK-CLASSIX polymer is a thermoplastic designed for medical device applications requiring blood or tissue contact of less than 30 days. It is one of the most chemically resistant polymers available and exhibits a superior combination of strength, stiffness and toughness making it ideally suited for medical device applications.

We are excited for the opportunity to bring our PEEK-CLASSIX polymer to Upchurch Scientific customers," said Michael Callahan, President of Invibio. Upchurch Scientific, as a leading solutions provider to the medical device market, provides the perfect opportunity for us to extend our reach."

We are proud to offer pre-certified PEEK-CLASSIX polymer from Invibio," said Mike Bailey, VP of Research, Development and Sales, for Upchurch Scientific. Our in-house tubing extrusion, molding and machining of this pre-certified polymer takes the expense and time consuming hassle of USP Class VI and ISO 10993 material certification out of our customers development cycle."

Invibios PEEK-CLASSIX polymer also fills the gap between industrial grade PEEK and PEEK-OPTIMA® polymers for applications requiring Class VI or ISO material certification, but not requiring permanently implantable material.

About Invibio
Invibio provides biomaterial solutions to the medical device market, and is the world-wide manufacturer and distributor of both PEEK-OPTIMA and PEEK-CLASSIX polymers, ideally suited for medical devices and pharmaceutical applications. Invibio's PEEK based polymers are produced at its headquarters and manufacturing facility in the United Kingdom. Invibio Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Victrex plc. Invibio is available on the Web at www.invibio.com.

About Upchurch Scientific
Upchurch Scientific, operated by the Scivex, Inc. unit of IDEX Corporation, has built a reputation as an innovation leader in precision molding, extruding and machining of components and subassemblies for the medical, clinical diagnostic, analytical and biotechnology markets. Please contact us today at (800) 426-0191 or (360) 679-2528 to learn more about PEEK-CLASSIX polymer solutions for medical components and devices.

For more Invibio information, press only:
Tracy Conger, HSR Business to Business, (513) 346-5557, tconger@hsr.com

For more Upchurch Scientific information, press only:
Mike Bailey, Vice President, Research, Development and Sales, Upchurch Scientific, (360) 679-2528, mike.bailey@scivex.com