Helix Medical LLC (Carpinteria, CA), a Freudenberg company and global manufacturer for the medical device and pharmaceutical industries, announces that it has acquired the silicone tubing product line of W. L. Gore & Associates Inc. (Newark, DE). Effective immediately, Helix Medical will supply Gore's existing pharmaceutical and biotech customers with Gore silicone tubing and reinforced silicone hose for fluid transfer and peristaltic pump operations.

"This acquisition is a strategic expansion of our successful HelixMark silicone tubing product line," said Dr. Mark Ostwald, Vice President and General Manager of Helix Medical. "With the tubing from Gore, we will expand our portfolio of silicone tubing with raw material specifically formulated to meet the needs of pharmaceutical and biotechnology processes.

"Helix Medical has been a silicone tubing supplier to Gore since 2012, manufacturing fluid-handling products from our FDA-registered facility in Carpinteria," Ostwald told PlasticsToday. "It was a natural progression for Gore to transfer this business to Helix, as we were looking to expand our offerings in pharma and bioprocessing solutions. Since we are currently a Gore tubing supplier, all material, specifications and part numbers for these tubing lines will remain unchanged. We will continue to be a contract manufacturing partner to Gore—our successful partnership was a prerequisite for the smooth transition of this product portfolio," said Ostwald.

Ostwald added that Helix Medical sees strong growth in silicone tubing going forward and that new applications continue to emerge. "Over the past few years we have seen more requirements and higher material demands for tubing. We have also seen an increase in demand for precision cut-to-length tubing," Ostwald told PlasticsToday.

Helix Medical operates 10 manufacturing plants globally, and its capabilities include design and development, molding and extrusion, complex catheter systems, assembly, packaging and engineering services.

Commenting on the sale in a news release, Tony Smiley, Business Leader at Gore, said that the company "will continue to serve the global pharmaceutical and biotech industry with other high performance, technology-driven products while, at the same time, continuing to supply our customers with the utmost in quality and value."

Helix Medical will market the silicone tubing line from Gore under the PharmaFocus Premium brand. As a supplier of silicone products for more than 30 years, Helix Medical says that it is proud to be able to continue to serve Gore's customers with high-quality silicone products and a range of custom packaging and spooling services.