Bio-Based TPE for Biopharmaceutical Tubing Added to Avient’s Sustainable Healthcare Solutions

July 10, 2023

Avient’s new Versaflex™ HC BIO TPE offers a sustainable alternative for biopharma tubing applications.    

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CLEVELAND – July 10, 2023 – Today, Avient Corporation announced the availability of its newest bio-derived healthcare solution, Versaflex™ HC BIO thermoplastic elastomer (TPE). Developed as a more sustainable alternative for biopharmaceutical tubing, the initial Versaflex HC BIO BT218 grade is formulated with nearly 40% first-generation biomass content, resulting in a lower carbon footprint than traditional alternatives.  

“Improving sustainability is a challenge in all industries, but is especially true in the strict regulatory world of healthcare. This product is an example of our ongoing commitment to using material science to help address this growing need in various ways,” said Matt Mitchell, director, global marketing, Specialty Engineered Materials at Avient. “Creating specialty materials that reduce carbon emissions at the beginning of the product life cycle is one way we can support customers in fulfilling sustainability commitments and maintain critical performance demands.”  

The 71 Shore A formulation provides critical application performance such as weldability, kink resistance, and tensile strength comparable to leading medical tubing materials, including silicone and standard TPEs. In contrast, the bio-derived grade offers greenhouse gas emissions at 2.35 kg CO2e / kg product, a nearly 25 percent lower cradle-to-gate product carbon footprint (PCF) than Avient’s standard Versaflex HC BT218 grade. Avient’s PCF calculation method follows the ISO 14067:2018 standard and is certified by TÜV Rheinland.  

Certified for USP Class VI and ISO 10993, the new Versaflex HC BIO BT218 grade is manufactured in the United States with global commercial availability.  

About Avient  

Avient Corporation provides specialized and sustainable material solutions that transform customer challenges into opportunities, bringing new products to life for a better world. Examples include:  

• Dyneema®, the world’s strongest fiber™, enables unmatched levels of performance and protection for end-use applications, including ballistic personal protection, marine and sustainable infrastructure and outdoor sports  
• Unique technologies that improve the recyclability of products and enable recycled content to be incorporated, thus advancing a more circular economy  
• Light-weighting solutions that replace heavier traditional materials like metal, glass and wood, which can improve fuel efficiency in all modes of transportation and reduce carbon footprint  
• Sustainable infrastructure solutions that increase energy efficiency, renewable energy, natural resource conservation and fiber optic / 5G network accessibility     

Avient is certified ACC Responsible Care®, a founding member of the Alliance to End Plastic Waste and certified Great Place to Work®. For more information, visit https://www.avient.com.    

To access Avient's news library online, please visit www.avient.com/news.    

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Media contact
Nicole DeChant
Avient Corporation
nicole.dechant@avient.com