Bayer HealthCare opens new vascular devices facility

Bayer HealthCare has announced the opening of a newly expanded facility for use in the research and production of medical devices for vascular occlusions.

The new facility will be utilised by the company's interventional franchise within its medical care division's radiology and interventional business unit, and is located at its Coon Rapids headquarters in Minnesota.

It incorporates research and development laboratories as well as manufacturing clean rooms, comprising around 80,000 sq ft of space.

Scientists and research technicians will be able to take advantage of the new facilities as the company seeks to expand production of the drug-eluting balloon Cotavance, an EU-approved treatment for peripheral artery disease, which Bayer wishes to make available worldwide.

Alan Main, president of Bayer HealthCare's medical care business, said: "This expansion nearly doubles our infrastructure in Minnesota … and provides room for future growth in our cardiovascular and peripheral vascular disease device lines."

This comes after the firm announced a new lab-sharing scheme to assist promising start-up life science companies earlier this month.