KURARAY POVAL™ is the brand name of Kuraray’s globally produced polyvinyl alcohols (PVA). Due to its physical and chemical properties, KURARAY POVAL™ can be used in a wide-ranging field of applications and is a remarkably versatile polymer platform for use in developing drug formulations. “With more than 60 years of experience and extensive production and application expertise, we can tailor the properties of our PVA polymers precisely to our customers’ specifications”, says Heiko Mack, Head of Poval Business at Kuraray Europe GmbH. ”Our close and trusting relationships with our customers result in exceptional products and individual applications that meet today’s demanding standards.”
Kuraray’s manufacturing expertise, combined with Merck’s design know-how will result in the availability of a wide variety of PVA polymer grades for pharmaceutical application. These compounds, including ones with various new properties, can help tackle pharmaceutical challenges. For example, they can improve the controlled release (CR) of solid dosage forms and topically applied gels. The developments of this collaboration include injectable grades with very low levels of specific impurities.
The agreement will provide a steady supply of PVA polymers, so Merck can continue to develop solutions to help customers in the pharmaceutical industry solve new challenges and deliver effective drug therapies to patients. Biodegradable PVA polymers form the backbone of several of Merck’s high-value, state-of-the-art products for formulation and drug delivery such as Parteck® MXP excipient for hot melt extrusion. These polymers are also the basis for numerous pharmaceutical-grade developments in the company’s excipient pipeline.
About Kuraray
Established in 1991, Kuraray Europe GmbH is based in Hattersheim, near Frankfurt am Main, Germany. In 2016 the company generated annual sales of over EUR 680 million. It has 680 employees in Germany at its sites in Hattersheim, Frankfurt and Troisdorf. Kuraray is a global speciality chemicals company and one of the largest suppliers of industrial polymers and synthetic microfibres for many sectors of industry. Examples are KURARAY POVAL™, ELVANOL™, EXCEVAL™, Mowital®, Trosifol® and CLEARFIL™.
Kuraray Europe also has about 180 employees at six other European sites. They are also working on the development and application of innovative high-performance materials for a wide range of sectors, including the automotive, paper, glass and packaging industries, as well as for architects and dentists.
Kuraray Europe is a wholly owned subsidiary of the publicly listed Kuraray Co., Ltd., which is based in Tokyo, Japan, and has more than 9,000 employees worldwide and sales of over EUR 4 billion.
Press contacts:
Dr. Bettina Plaumann
Head of KEG Communications & Marketing
Kuraray Europe GmbH
Philipp-Reis-Straße 4
65795 Hattersheim am Main
Tel.: +49 69 305 85797
E-Mail: Bettina.Plaumann@kuraray.com
Internet: www.kuraray.eu
Julian Rudolf
Wortwahl – Agentur für Unternehmens- und Onlinekommunikation
Bahnhofstraße 123
63263 Neu-Isenburg
Tel.: +49 6102 36678-16
E-Mail: rudolf@wortwahl.de
Internet: www.wortwahl.de
Source of photos: Kuraray
