Covalon Launches Centaur Low Particulate, Lubricious Coating for Medical Devices

Covalon Technologies Ltd. has launched of its new, Centaur low particulate, lubricious coating designed to improve the safety and functionality of intravascular medical devices such as catheters, guidewires and delivery sheaths where the presence of unwanted particulate can cause significant patient complications.

In a third party in-vitro simulated vascular insertion study designed to measure the levels of particulate, Covalon’s Centaur coating resulted in statistically significantly lower levels for all particulate sizes relative to the same uncoated catheter. This contrasts with other industry coatings that can generate nearly twice as many particles as the same uncoated catheter. Covalon’s Centaur coating technology specifically targets and is ideally suited for a growing segment of the medical coatings market focused on improving lubricity while maintaining coating durability.
 
“We are very excited about these results,” said Val DiTizio, Covalon’s chief scientific officer. “Being able to show that a coated catheter can have fewer particles than even an uncoated catheter positions our patented technology ahead of the current leading medical coating processes.”
 
In November 2015, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a safety communication regarding lubricious coatings separating from vascular access devices. It states that since Jan. 1, 2010, there have been 11 recalls from various manufacturers associated with these coatings peeling or flaking off of medical devices. The majority of the recalls were associated with guidewires, but there have also been recalls for other types of devices including sheaths, retrieval devices and embolization device delivery wires used in the vasculature.¹
 
“The combination of recent recalls and a market for medical device coatings that is expected to grow to $15 billion by 2025, makes our launch of a highly differentiated medical coating like Centaur that has a potentially more favourable safety profile than its competitors an exciting opportunity for our coatings business,” said John R. Hands, executive vice president at Covalon. “Our new Centaur low particulate, lubricious coating can help medical device manufacturers introduce new lines of coated catheters, guidewires and stents that provide a higher level of confidence to clinicians when using their medical devices.”
 
Covalon collaborates with other medical device companies to develop custom medical device coatings that offer a unique, strategic advantage for their product offerings. The proprietary CovaCoat and Centaur technologies provide a cost-effective coating process for good functionality and performance for a variety of medical device surfaces.
 
Covalon Technologies Ltd. researches, develops and commercializes new healthcare technologies that help save lives around the world. Covalon’s patented technologies, products and services address the advanced healthcare needs of medical device companies, healthcare providers and individual consumers. Covalon’s technologies are used to prevent, detect and manage medical conditions in specialty areas such as wound care, tissue repair, infection control, disease management, medical device coatings and biocompatibility. The Canadian company is based in Ontario.

Reference:
1.  http://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/Safety/AlertsandNotices/ucm473794.htm