The Future of Medical Device Development: Honeywell’s Spectra UF BIO Fiber Solution for Cardiovascular Applications

By Zachary Murnane, Medical Fiber Global Business Manager, Honeywell

The rise in heart valve disease and other cardiovascular conditions has led to a growing demand for minimally invasive devices and technologies. In addition, medical devices need to meet specific tissue response and durability criteria for the biomedical structures to elicit proper biologic responses. This means that medical devices need to be small and flexible to enable minimally invasive surgeries while also being strong and durable so they can last for the full life of the patient. The use of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fibers like Honeywell Spectra UF BIO can play a significant and useful role in the development of biocompatible medical devices, particularly in the field of cardiovascular applications such as heart valves.

What is Honeywell Spectra® UF BIO Fiber

Spectra® UF BIO Fiber is a product portfolio that falls under the Honeywell medical grade fi…

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Medtronic appoints Greg Lewis as director

Greg Lewis. [Image courtesy of Medtronic]Medtronic (NYSE: MDT) + announced today that it appointed Greg Lewis to its board of directors.

Lewis currently serves as SVP and CFO at Honeywell. He will serve on the Audit Committee and Finance and Financial Risk Committee as part of Medtronic’s board. His move becomes effective today, June 26, 2023.

“We are thrilled to have Greg Lewis join our Board,” said Geoff Martha, Medtronic chair and CEO. “His background in financial leadership across multiple industries will be a strong asset as Medtronic pushes forward a comprehensive transformation that will set us up to deliver on durable growth.”

Lewis joined Honeywell in 2006. Since then, he took up a variety of financial leadership roles across the company. That includes VP of corporate finance and CFO of Honeywell’s automation and control solutions (ACS) segment.

He began his caree…

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Honeywell introduces new bio-fiber for cardiovascular and orthopedic devices

NEWS RELEASE: Honeywell introduces new ultra-fine denier medical grade bio fiber for cardiovascular and orthopedic devices

Honeywell’s Spectra UF BIO fiber in 25 dtex [Photo courtesy of Honeywell]

New technology enables smaller, lighter and more durable minimally invasive surgical device design

Honeywell today announced the addition of a new ultra-fine denier fiber to its Spectra ® Medical Grade (MG) BIO fiber portfolio. Spectra ® Ultra Fine (UF) BIO fiber, now available in 25 decitex (dtex), enables minimally invasive cardiovascular and orthopedic device design and helps increase device longevity, given it is a stronger fiber compared to polyester, nylon or other technologies used.

Compared with conventional polyethylene fiber, Honeywell’s Spectra MG BIO fibers are made of ultra- high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), which is ultra-lightweight, ultra-high strength and manufactured through a uniq…

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Small but mighty medical fiber: Minimally invasive surgery demands new materials

Honeywell’s Spectra MG Bio medical fiber [Photo courtesy of Honeywell]

High-strength, lightweight medical fiber helps make surgical procedures more effective.

Zachary Murnane, Honeywell

The first minimally invasive surgery (MIS) — an endoscopy — dates back hundreds of years. In orthopedics, it has a history of a century or more.

Uptake has accelerated more recently, and has grown fast across a wide range of surgeries in the last few decades. One published analysis of MIS described the expansion as “exponential since the introduction of laparoscopic surgery in the late 1980s.”

MIS is the new standard. In orthopedics, MIS is now widely used for arthroscopies and even full joint replacement for not just knees, but hips, wrists, shoulders and elbows. From gastroenterology to cardiothoracic and heart surgery, pediatric to urogynecology, MIS has surged.

According to one estimate, …

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Honeywell plant to make environmentally-friendly medical propellant 

The international industrial conglomerate Honeywell (Nasdaq: HON) has opened a facility in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to produce its new Solstice Air (HFO-1234ze(E) cGMP) medical propellant.

HFO-1234ze is a fourth-generation refrigerant.

The Morris Plains, New Jersey–based company says the new medical propellant has near-zero global warming potential (GWP) and is suitable for use in respiratory inhalers.

The Solstice Air product is exempt from federal volatile organic compound (VOC) requirements.

Honeywell has announced that its client AstraZeneca (LON:AZN) is working on using Honeywell’s Solstice Air technology as a medical propellant in its triple-combination therapy Breztri Aerosphere (budesonide/glycopyrronium/ formoterol fumarate).

Honewell plant in Baton Rouge [Image courtesy of Honeywell]

FDA approved Breztri Aerosphere as a maintenance treatment for COPD in 2020.

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Manufacturing matchmaker Fictiv raises $100M for supply chain push

Fictiv co-founder and CEO Dave Evans [Photo courtesy of Fictiv]

Fictiv has closed a $100 million Series E funding round, the on-demand manufacturing technology company said today.

Fictiv focuses on “helping companies produce better products,” co-founder and CEO Dave Evans said, with three main offerings: new product development, engineer-to-order products, and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO).

But the company doesn’t actually own any manufacturing equipment, and instead has built a vetted network of 250 manufacturing partners, Evans told Device Talks Editorial Director Tom Salemi in an interview. After medical device developers upload their designs to Fictiv’s web-based platform, they get instant pricing and help choosing from different manufacturing methods, standards and prices to find the best fit.

“I’m the go-between [with contract manufacturers] bec…

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How medtech and pharma are responding to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

[Image from Pixabay]

Medtech and pharma companies continue to support Ukraine relief efforts following Russia’s invasion.

Previously, the World Health Organization announced that it was sending “essential medical supplies” to Ukraine — including its first shipment of 36 metric tons of supplies for trauma care and emergency surgery and other health supplies — to meet the needs of more than 150,000 patients. Medical device and pharmaceutical companies have taken various actions for support efforts, ranging from matching employee contributions and sending supplies to suspending operations in the region.

Get the full running list of life science companies and their efforts on Medical Design & Outsourcing.

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How medtech and pharma are responding to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

[Image from Pixabay]Medtech and pharma companies continue to support Ukraine relief efforts following Russia’s invasion.

Previously, the World Health Organization announced that it was sending “essential medical supplies” to Ukraine — including its first shipment of 36 metric tons of supplies for trauma care and emergency surgery and other health supplies — to meet the needs of more than 150,000 patients. Medical device and pharmaceutical companies have taken various actions for support efforts, ranging from matching employee contributions and sending supplies to suspending operations in the region.

Get the full running list of life science companies and their efforts on Medical Design & Outsourcing.

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How medtech and pharma are responding to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

[Image from Pixabay]

Medtech and pharma companies continue to support Ukraine relief efforts following Russia’s invasion.

Previously, the World Health Organization announced that it was sending “essential medical supplies” to Ukraine — including its first shipment of 36 metric tons of supplies for trauma care and emergency surgery and other health supplies — to meet the needs of more than 150,000 patients. Medical device and pharmaceutical companies have taken various actions for support efforts, ranging from matching employee contributions and sending supplies to suspending operations in the region.

Below is a running list of life science companies and their efforts. This is a developing story and will be updated as companies release information.

3M: Suspending all business in Russia.

Abbott: Donating $2 million to humanitarian organizations to support Ukraine and refugees; donating …

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Johnson & Johnson adds Honeywell CEO to its board

Honeywell CEO Darius Adamczyk [Image courtesy of Honeywell]Honeywell CEO Darius Adamczyk will join Johnson & Johnson’s board of directors, the medtech and pharma giant announced.

In a news release posted yesterday, J&J CEO Alex Gorsky described Adamczyk as an “accomplished global leader with decades of experience and a track record of growing businesses.”

“He is also a champion of sustainability and investments in innovation to improve the lives of people around the world,” Gorsky said. “Darius’s extensive knowledge of numerous business sectors will add important dimension and a unique perspective to the Johnson & Johnson Board of Directors.”

Adamczyk joined Honeywell in 2008 after Honeywell acquired when laser and scanning technology company Metrologic, where he was CEO. Since then, he has risen through the executive ranks at Honeywell, taking over the corner office in 2017.

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Honeywell acquires MES firm Performix

Honeywell (NASDAQ:HON) will integrate manufacturing execution system (MES) software offerings from Performix Inc. into its portfolio of offerings for life science companies.

Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

Houston, Texas–based Performix specialized in creating MES software for pharma and biotech companies.

Late last year, Honeywell announced its intent to acquire privately-held Sparta Systems (Atlanta), a provider of quality management software, for $1.3 billion.

Honeywell’s life sciences strategy is to offer a comprehensive software suite that can integrate multiple systems into a single manufacturing ecosystem, according to Ujjwal Kumar, president of Honeywell Process Solutions. “Honeywell can now offer customers a tailored solution designed for their specific industry that combines process automation, production management, quality management and data analytics into a single software suite,” he said in a statement.

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Honeywell lays off nearly 500 on Rhode Island N95 production line

N95 respirator [Image from the FDA]Honeywell is laying off approximately 470 employees on its Smithfield, R.I.-based N95 respirator mask production line.

Charlotte, N.C.-based Honeywell expanded operations at the Smithfield eye protection products plant so that the facility could also manufacture millions of N95 masks at the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020.

Get the full story at our sister site, Medical Design & Outsourcing.

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