Lubrizol begins medical-grade Isoplast TPU production in Shanghai

The US specialty chemicals company announced the start of production alongside its presentation of Tolerathane TPU for implantable medical devices at Medtec China 2026, held Sept. 1–3 in Shanghai.

Lubrizol said local manufacture of Isoplast establishes a dual-source supply model combining its global manufacturing network with production in China. The company said this would improve supply-chain resilience and business continuity while allowing it to respond more quickly to customers in the region.

Medical-grade Isoplast TPU is designed for healthcare applications requiring properties including biostability, chemical resistance and impact resistance.

“China’s medical device industry is rapidly moving toward higher-value innovation, and material supply chains are evolving from being simply a manufacturing foundation to becoming a strategic enabler of next-generation medical technologies,” said Jane Cai, senior business director, Asia Pacific, Lubrizol.

“The local production of Isoplast TPU enables us to work more closely with customers and better support local innovation. With our capabilities in local R&D, manufacturing, technical services, and regulatory support, we look forward to collaborating with medical device companies in China to accelerate the adoption of advanced healthcare solutions.”

At Medtec China, Lubrizol also highlighted its Tolerathane medical-grade TPU, which the company launched earlier this year for long-term implantable medical devices.

The material is intended for applications including neuromodulation devices, structural heart therapies and vascular grafts, where manufacturers are seeking materials capable of combining long-term biostability with softness and mechanical resilience.

Lubrizol said Tolerathane is designed to withstand harsh biological conditions while its processing characteristics can support smaller and more complex device architectures.

“Future advances in implantable medical devices will increasingly depend on continued progress in material technologies,” said Derek Newbould, global business director, medical polymers at Lubrizol.

“As the industry advances toward longer-term implantation, device miniaturization, increasingly complex designs, and higher performance requirements, next-generation material solutions will play a critical role in enabling the next wave of medical device advancements.”

Lubrizol is a Berkshire Hathaway company and operates more than 100 manufacturing, sales and technical facilities worldwide. The company has supplied polymers to the medical device industry for more than 50 years.

Photo: Lubrizol and IMCD announce their expanded collaboration (© Lubrizol)

Lubrizol