Biocoat
Coating Innovations Combined with Superior Service

A coating product that enables interventional medical devices to easily traverse deep into the human body’s vasculature has long been soughtafter by physicians. Hydrophilic coatings provide easier access for catheters, guide wires, and other materials to the therapy destination, improve functionality of the device, minimize trauma and friction to the body’s internal vessels, and shorten procedure times. The primary application of these coatings is on devices used in neurovascular, cardiology, peripheral, urology, and ophthalmic procedures, where enhanced lubricity, durability, and minimal particulate generation are paramount.

“Our coating solutions greatly enhance vascular access, navigation, promote better patient outcomes, and are superior to other FDA-approved options available in the market,” says Jim Moran, President and CEO of Biocoat.

Breakthrough Innovation in Coating Solutions

A firm belief in innovation as the driving force behind disruption propels Biocoat to create novel coating products in response to specific customer requirements. This ensures the products have practical applications.

HYDAK^®is a prime example of Biocoat’s biomaterial tech innovations, which are easily integrated with ultraviolet (UV) and thermal cure coating technologies. The HYDAK^®thermal cure technology allows customers to coat both the outer and inner diameters of introducer sheaths and catheters with hydrophilic coatings, without requiring a primer.

The hydrophilic coating technology can successfully be applied to soft, multi-durometer products and challenging substrates like stainless steel and nitinol, outperforming existing market options.

HYDAK^®streamlines the coating needs of medical device manufacturers with a focus on enhancing performance, reducing processing times, and easing the application process for coating multiple devices. Its versatile range of products allows customers to choose the coating method that best suits their requirements and maximize product performance.

Technology that Goes the Extra Mile

Biocoat’s HYDAK^®coating technology follows a bi-laminar application process. It involves dip-coating the medical device in the HYDAK^® coating solution using a twocoat system. The basecoat normalizes the substrate’s surface by chemically binding with it, regardless of the material used; Pebax, nylon, stainless steel, or nitinol. The basecoat covalently bonds with the topcoat, which imparts hydrophilic properties, resulting in a very slippery and durable surface that minimizes particulate generation.

Over the past five years, Biocoat has made significant improvements to the process of manufacturing hydrophilic coatings. It consults with operations experts and quality and regulatory teams to explore ways of enhancing existing manufacturing processes, successfully scaling production capacity.

The outcome of these improvements has been remarkable. Enhanced operations has improved from producing a single batch of coating material five times a week with 40-liter mixing vessels, to now producing hundreds of liters per week using larger vessels. This efficient scaling strategy has enabled Biocoat to expand its capabilities, optimize operations, and better serve the growing demand from clients.

In addition to expanding its coating operations, Biocoat has taken proactive steps to support continued innovation in the industry. To this end, it has established a product comprehensive coating services business unit that caters to large OEM’s, CMO’s and medical device startups. They have also added a coating equipment business unit to support customers who prefer to apply Biocoat coatings to their devices in their own facilities.

Engineering Client-Inspired Coating Solutions

Biocoat stands tall and delivers on what matters to their clients -superior, high-quality product development, delivered via a high-touch customer service model, and an ever-expanding team of experienced engineers and researchers.

The architects of Biocoat’s hydrophilic coating solutions, its engineering team, engage with project managers of original equipment manufacturers and contract development and manufacturing organizations. This lends itself to a ‘team approach’ to the development, often times ending with new and cutting-edge coating solutions for clients. This approach also allows Biocoat engineers to stay abreast of trends in products and materials. Notable among recent trends, are the use of softer substrates for improved distal access, requiring the development of a solution for multi-durometer products using a single coating.

Our Coating Solutions Greatly Enhance Vascular Navigation, Promote Better Patient Outcomes, And Are Superior To Other FDA-Approved Options Available In The Market

Once a new project is initiated, Biocoat’s engineering team actively listens to the client’s needs and goals regarding the coating’s performance requirements, addressing issues or the potential need for improvements. It maintains transparency by sharing data and explaining the coating process.

Clients can also reach out to Biocoat’s engineers to share test results or seek advice on optimizing performance. This collaborative approach enables the continuous refinement of coatings and the ability to meet specific customer requirements.

“We meet a customers coating needs no matter where they are on their journey of development on their medical device product,” says Moran.

Recent collaborations with a leading device development company and its contract manufacturer stand out as stellar examples of customer-guided innovation in action. Biocoat’s engineers collaborated with the engineering teams of both companies to develop customized coating solutions and application processes that complement the unique design of their medical devices.

After finalizing the coating process and conducting rigorous testing, the engineers created a solution to ensure consistent coating of materials according to the exact specifications.

Biocoat’s customer-centric focus and commitment to meeting client project requirements is also reflected in its rapid turnaround times when coating customer devices. This proves highly beneficial with startups seeking quick development of high-quality coating solutions. Recognizing their unique coating and testing challenges, and fast-paced development timelines, it helps accelerate product development and time to market with their new devices.

Rapid turnaround times for development runs also enable clients to test and apply the coatings quickly, ensuring timely completion of product development projects.

The Torchbearer of Disruptive Innovation

Its robust research capabilities and collaborations with industry leaders and subject matter experts carry the mark of intense dedication to innovation. Driven to deliver high-performance coating products and services, Biocoat’s global research, development, and innovation team, led by Dr. Bob Hergenrother, continuously develop unique chemistries that exceed performance expectations while addressing unmet client and market needs.

It attributes a significant part of its success to its company culture that prioritizes hiring, training, and developing skilled and motivated team members, and cultivating their potential to become future leaders and innovators.

Biocoat’s dedication to serving clients with its pioneering coating solutions is best reflected in the accolades it receives from them. “According to the CEO of a cutting-edge catheter design company Biocoats dedication to serving clients with its pioneering coating solutions is best reflected in the accolades it receives from them. The difference with the Biocoat team is the willingness to be adaptable and go the extra mile for customers.”

Further innovations through collaborations and acquisitions populate Biocoat’s roadmap. Slated for greater expansion into the biomaterials segment, its platform has become a robust vehicle for integrating with other technologies and onboarding companies. The recent acquisition of Chempilots, a Denmark-based provider of specialty polymers and production services to the medical device industry, is a realization of its growing reach beyond the U.S. and into Europe.

Biocoat is vigilant about ensuring its products deliver exceptional performance and satisfy the distinct requirements for each project, strengthening its position in the medical device industry and beyond. It is steadfast in its commitment to innovation, excellence, and customer-centricity to advance the field of hydrophilic coatings, adding new layers of efficiency to invasive medical devices.