Company insight
Stealth acquisition: A new operator enters the coating for sale market
Formacoat has entered the ‘coating for sale’ market with its acquisition of VitroStealth from DSM Biomedical. Vice-president Todd Paulsen explains how the move reflects the company’s commitment to innovation and thinking beyond convention, as well as its strategy to bring advanced coating technologies directly to the medical device industry.
I
n 2023, Formacoat was approached by DSM
Biomedical with an interesting proposal: the divestiture of its VitroStealth coating to a trusted vendor. DSM was making some changes and while VitroStealth was a great coating, it wasn’t in the current alignment of products. But DSM wanted to pass it along to someone that would champion such a coating, as well as take care of its established customers
Enter Formacoat
Since its inception in 2002, Formacoat’s standard business practice has been an agnostic approach to coating. “Simply put, we have never made coating,” says Todd Paulsen, vice-president of Formacoat. “Over many, many years, we have partnered with a variety of coating vendors to create a library of coatings.
has hydrophilic properties. Study data indicates that
Formacoat’s headquarters and production facility in Chaska, Minnesota – a centre of innovation for medical coating technologies.
established over the past 20-plus years. So, Formacoat and its team of chemists and engineers did what they do best: they did their research. And it turns out VitroStealth was a unique coating indeed.
Unique VitroStealth VitroStealth is a coating technology that combines non-biofouling (NBF) properties with high durability and fast processing. It is scratch-resistant, and
“Over many, many years, we have partnered with a variety of coating vendors to create a library of coatings. It has allowed us to present the ultimate coating solution to our customers in need of coating for their medical devices.”
It has allowed us to present the ultimate coating solution to our customers in need of coating for their medical devices.”
When Formacoat approached this offer, it was its history with those vendors that caused the team to pause. It didn’t want to jeopardise the relationships it had
www.medicaldevice-developments.com
reduces unwanted protein absorption and cellular adhesion on surfaces. It is a solvent-based coating system and is cured by exposure to UV light. The coating can be processed at high speeds and applied using a variety of liquid coating techniques, including dip coating, spin coating and spray coating. It also
VitroStealth coating does not inhibit the transport of glucose or oxygen through coated filters. This opens the door to its application in the design of biosensors, where permeability and non-fouling are important requirements. An additional value of VitroStealth coating is in its ability to make plastic capillary surfaces hydrophilic. These
wetting properties allow the capillaries to fill completely and prevent analytes from collecting on the plastic walls.
Trusting the data Traditionally, VitroStealth coating has been shown to provide a significant advantage in improving the performance of biosensors. But Formacoat could see such great potential in this product that it seemed to be a safe way to enter the ‘coating for sale’ market.
“Formacoat is always on the lookout for the next best thing. We are about thinking outside of the box and creatively applying different technologies in new and creative ways,” says Paulsen. “We are excited about the trust that has been placed in us by DSM, and we are equally as excited to find out more about what we can do with this coating.” ●
Formacoat will be exhibiting at the COMPAMED international trade fair (Hall 8b/G30-5) on 17–20 November 2025.
https://formacoat.com 105
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