Evonik to Acquire Injectable Polymers Business from DURECT Corporation

Evonik has signed an agreement to acquire LACTEL®, DURECT Corporation's biodegradable polymers business. The transaction is expected to close by the first quarter of 2021, subject to customary closing conditions. In connection with the LACTEL® business, an offer will be extended to 15 DURECT employees based in Birmingham, Alabama to transition to Evonik. Johann-Caspar Gammelin, Head of the Nutrition & Care Division at Evonik, stated: "The acquisition of the Lactel® business will strengthen both our Health Care Solutions innovation growth area and Evonik's position as a global CDMO for pharmaceutical delivery solutions." The acquisition of the LACTEL® business marks an important step in the growth agenda of the life sciences division Nutrition & Care. The LACTEL® business will benefit from rapidly growing markets such as advanced drug delivery, biomaterials for tissue engineering, and 3D printing of implantable medical devices. Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLG or PLGA) polymers are widely used as a functional excipient to control the release of parenteral pharmaceutical products. They are also used to control the biodegradation of implantable medical devices in various orthopedic, cardiovascular, wound healing and other applications. RESOMER® and LACTEL® are among the most preferred brands of standard and specialty PLGA polymers.   Source