Astra Tech wins technology award for catheters

Astra Tech, the medical devices subsidiary of AstraZeneca, has won the 2006 Technology Innovation and Leadership of the Year Award from Frost and Sullivan business consultancy.

The accolade was awarded for its LoFric hydrophilic catheters, designed to make intermittent self-catheterisation a “convenient, clean and safe process”. The citation states that Astra “improved the quality of life of users by reducing the trauma and complications that were once associated with this procedure”.

Astra Tech, which has a stake of 40 per cent in the intermittent catheter market, employs Urotronic surface technology to reduce friction between the urethra and the catheter. Until Astra Tech invented hydrophilic catheters in the 1980s, a messy gel was used to aid insertion which often rubbed off during use, causing discomfort and pain to patients.

Peter Selley, Astra Tech’s president and chief executive officer, remarked: “We are very proud and pleased to win this award from such a respected organisation as Frost and Sullivan.”

“It recognises the effective research and development work of our company which benefits both patients and professionals in the healthcare sector.”

“Our policy is to continue improving the existing LoFric product line and we plan to introduce further developments in the future,” he added.

Astra Tech produces a range of dental and medical equipment in addition to the LoFric catheter, which the company claims is the most documented urethral catheter available today. The company’s UK headquarters are based in Stonehouse, Gloucestershire.

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