Biotech Company Signs Agreement to Manufacture First Catheters Made from Guayule Latex

CARLSBAD, Calif. -- Yulex Corporation announces it has signed an exclusive, royalty-based agreement with TechDevice Corporation, a medical device manufacturer that produces balloon catheters and guidewires for a variety of endoscopy, urology, and vascular applications. The agreement allows TechDevice to manufacture balloon-catheter based products using Yulex® latex made from guayule latex. Yulex® latex is the worlds only bio-based commercial source of latex that is designed to be safe for individuals with Type I latex allergy.

The demand for an alternative material that is superior in performance to synthetic latex products and does not pose serious health risks to the end-user is enormous, says Gordon Brown, president of TechDevice Corporation.

TechDevice will use Yulex® latex for the development and manufacture of balloon catheters used for stone retrieval, vessel occlusion and thermodilution indications. Superior in physical, chemical and biological properties to high-end synthetic materials, Yulex ® latex is more effective with better tensile strength than deproteinized tropical natural rubber latex and a safe alternative to tropical natural rubber latex materials.

We are pleased to successfully conclude our product development efforts with TechDevice and move towards the commercial production of these critical medical devices, says Jeffrey Martin, CEO of Yulex Corporation. TechDevices expertise in prototyping and developing minimally invasive balloon technologies has made them a market leader. 

Currently, synthetic rubber latex is the only alternative material available for catheters safe for latex allergy sufferers; however, such manmade materials cannot match the elasticity, tensile strength and durability of bio-based materials. Yulex® latex shares the same molecular composition as natural rubber latex, but without the proteins that cause latex allergy.

Yulex® latex is one of Yulex Corporations products derived from a U.S. desert plant called guayule. The plant also provides products for adhesives, and biofuels.