Lubrizol announces the inauguration of its Lubrizol Innovation Centre in Shanghai. Located at its Songjiang manufacturing site, the centre is the company’s innovation hub in the Asia Pacific. The site will focus on accelerating innovation, deepening customer collaboration, and promoting cross‑industry co‑creation.
Lubrizol
Lubrizol celebrates the inauguration of its Innovation Centre in Shanghai
“The Lubrizol Innovation Centre-Shanghai marks a pivotal milestone in strengthening our regional innovation capabilities and advancing localisation to meet the diverse needs of the Asia Pacific market,” said Henry Liu, Vice President, Asia Pacific, Lubrizol. “More than an advanced R&D facility, the centre is a collaborative platform designed to enable cross‑industry collaboration and breakthrough innovation. By combining global technology and experience with local insights and talent, we look forward to working closely with our partners to deliver sustainable solutions that improve well-being and enhance modern life.”
At the inauguration, Lubrizol introduced two important innovations:
- Tolerathane thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) for implantable medical devices.
- A portfolio of innovative solutions for pharmaceutical applications.
The Innovation Centre features enhanced laboratory capabilities with deep technical expertise for market‑oriented and high‑value innovation solutions for the mobility, infrastructure, electronics, sports and fashion, beauty and personal care, and healthcare industries. These facilities benefit from Lubrizol’s broader Asia Pacific innovation network, forming a market-proximate innovation ecosystem, benefiting localisation and allowing local innovations to scale internationally.
About Tolerathane thermoplastic polyurethane
The new medical-grade material is designed to address the evolving demands of implantable medical devices. The material offers improvements in biostability, softness, and design flexibility for medical TPU. Tolerathane TPU boasts enhanced resistance to oxidation and hydrolysis in harsh biological conditions while maintaining mechanical resilience and softness. Additionally, it integrates with standard thermoplastics processing and offers tunability for optimised performance, enabling thinner wall designs.
As a thermoplastic alternative to silicone, Tolerathane TPU is ideal for neuromodulation and cardiac leads, structural heart implants, percutaneous catheters and cables, and implanted textiles.
About Lubrizol’s new pharmaceutical solution portfolio
Lubrizol’s Carbopol polymer solutions for the pharmaceutical industry are centred on proven bio-adhesion technology. In ophthalmic, nasal, oral, and other mucosal drug delivery applications, conventional formulations face limitations, like short residence time and low bioavailability, restricting therapeutic efficacy, increasing dosing frequency, and negatively impacting patient adherence. Instead, Carbopol polymers can extend drug impact, help improve the effectiveness and safety of localised therapies.
