Wacker Buys Manufacturing Assets and Know-how of Bio Med Sciences
In a move to expand its expertise and business in silicone-coated healthcare products, Germany’s Wacker Chemie has acquired the manufacturing assets and know-how of US-based Bio Med Sciences. As part of the acquisition, a majority of Bio Med Sciences’ workforce will also move to Wacker, the company said. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
With the deal, Wacker said that it has advanced its expertise for fully integrated development and production of silicone-coated adhesive products. Silicones are best-in-class adhesive solutions due to their unmatched skin compatibility and tunable adhesive properties. According to Wacker, the skin fixation market for health care patches and medical devices has been growing in popularity for years.
“By taking over Bio Med Sciences’ assets, technology, and know-how, we are now a solution provider for the health care industry. We can support and collaborate with customers who are looking for innovative adhesive coating solutions in the healthcare sector even better. This new business perfectly complements our existing solutions of silicone-based gel adhesives for medical and cosmetic applications,” commented Wacker board member Christian Kirsten.
Wacker also plans to use the acquired technology as a development platform for innovations in stick-to-skin applications, such as wear-able medical devices and scar care. With these new assets and the existing silicones portfolio, the company can now provide processing recommendations with technical service to coaters and product designers. Also, customers will have access to new silicone adhesive coated products through contract manufacturing.
The acquired assets and a majority of the workforce will be part of a new legal entity called Wacker Silicone Manufactured Innovations (WSMI). The business of the entity, a wholly owned subsidiary of Wacker Chemical Corporation, is based in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Existing consumer products and related brands will remain with BioMed Sciences and are not part of the acquisition.
