TephaFLEX Absorbable Suture

The fundamental aspects of this technology is based upon new methods for producing a class of natural materials, called polyhydroxyalkanoates- or PHA polymers. These polymers are synthesized in nature by numerous microorganisms, and they have been recently recognized as the fifth class of naturally occurring biopolymers (along with the polyamino acids, polynucleic acids, polysaccharides, and polyisoprenoids). Unlike the other naturally occurring biological polymers, however, the PHA polymers are thermoplastic, i.e. they can be repeatedly softened with heat and hardened with cooling. As such, these polymers can be processed much like the plastics we use today. Tepha's biomaterials are produced by proprietary transgenic fermentation processes, similar in some respects to those used to produce biopharmaceuticals, but with substantially higher yields of product -- often reaching 50 grams or more of biomaterial per liter. The company is able to control the composition of the biomaterial through the appropriate selection of genes, production vehicles, feedstocks, and pathway engineering methods.

Source: tepha.comAdded: 12 April 2007