Evonik said today that it has acquired the Lactel PLGA-based polymers business from Durect Corp.

All Durect employees associated with the Lactel business in Birmingham, Ala., accepted the offer to join Evonik in similar roles, according to Essen, Germany-based Evonik. The deal closed Dec. 31, 2020.

Evonik will integrate the Lactel biodegradable polymers line into its healthcare business, according to a news release.

“The acquisition of the Lactel business will strengthen both our innovation growth field, Healthcare Solutions, and Evonik’s position as a globally leading CDMO for drug-delivery solutions,” Johann-Caspar Gammelin, head of Evonik’s Nutrition & Care division, said in the release.

Evonik expects the Lactel business to complement its own Resomer line of standard and custom PLGA polymers. Poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLG or PLGA) polymers are widely used as a functional excipient to control the release of parenteral drug products. They are also utilized to control the biodegradation of implantable medical devices across various orthopedic, cardiovascular, wound healing and other applications.

“The integration of the Lactel business into Evonik’s market-leading portfolio of functional excipients, biomaterials and integrated CDMO services will strengthen our position as a preferred development partner and solutions provider,” added Thomas Riermeier, head of the Health Care business line. “By welcoming Lactel and members of their team into the Evonik family, we look forward to providing customers with even greater platform versatility as well as other value-adding services.”