Medical demand drives the development of the rubber and plastic market

Since the 21st century, China's medical rubber and plastic products industry has made significant progress in terms of process equipment, product quality, and enterprise management, presenting a gratifying situation. It has formed a one-stop system of production, supply, and marketing, with a considerable degree of industrialization. However, in terms of the overall situation of the industry, there are still many problems in these aspects that cannot meet the needs of rapid market development. How to catch up with the world's advanced level has become an urgent task for Chinese medical rubber product manufacturers and medical rubber material research.

Observation on the Development Status of Medical Rubber and Plastic Materials

In the past decade, significant progress has been made in the research of medical rubber materials as biocompatible materials, and many functional and serialized medical rubber products have been put into clinical applications. At present, domestic enterprises producing medical rubber materials include: Chenguang Chemical Research and Design Institute, Blue Star New Materials Co., Ltd., Zhejiang Xin'an Chemical Co., Ltd., which produces medical grade silicone rubber; Sinopec Yanshan Petrochemical Company, which produces butyl rubber (IIR), and others; Baling Petrochemical Synthetic Rubber Division, which produces medical grade SEBS materials.

——Product Status

At present, there are more than 300 enterprises in China specializing in the production of medical rubber products, among which the larger manufacturers include Guilin Latex Factory, China Rubber Group Zhuzhou Rubber and Plastic Research and Design Institute, Shijiazhuang Rubber Co., Ltd., Ningbo Xingya Rubber Group Co., Ltd., Harbin Jinda Medical Rubber Products Co., Ltd., Shijiazhuang Yaofeng Rubber Factory, Chongqing Kangsheng Rubber Co., Ltd., Jining Tongli Rubber Products Co., Ltd., Shenyang Rubber Products Third Factory, etc.

Guilin Latex Factory is a production base for latex products exported from China and a large condom manufacturer in China. It has advanced production equipment and high-precision testing equipment, with the ability to produce 600 million high-quality condoms and 25 million pairs of high-quality medical gloves annually. It can also produce high-quality inspection gloves, household gloves, and blood transfusion hoses.

Main manufacturers of condoms and medical gloves in China:

Zhongxiang Group Zhuzhou Rubber and Plastic Industry Research and Design Institute (formerly known as the Latex Industry Research Institute of the Ministry of Chemical Industry) is a professional research institute in the latex industry. Its main medical rubber products include latex gloves, medicinal butyl rubber bottle stoppers, etc.

The rapid development of medical latex products

From the usage and production situation of medical rubber products in 2010, medical latex products have developed rapidly. The variety of domestic latex gloves is also constantly increasing, such as powder free latex gloves, gloves containing antibacterial and antiviral microcapsules, low protein content gloves, nano CaCO3, SiO2 latex gloves and other new products are constantly emerging, and there have been significant improvements in product vulcanization processes, additives and other aspects. Since the second half of 2009, the number of orders received by Chinese latex glove production enterprises has increased significantly, and it is expected that the export volume will show a recovery growth trend in the coming years.

With the abnormal climate and rampant influenza around the world in recent years, the demand for latex products will continue to increase globally, and the development of related industries has also put forward new requirements for latex products. According to new reports, the United States consumed a total of 27 billion pairs of latex gloves last year, ranking first in the world in terms of quantity. In recent years, the world consumes approximately 60-65 billion pairs of latex gloves annually, of which developed Western countries account for about 75% of the purchase volume, while developing countries only account for 25%. Medical experts believe that the best way to prevent the spread of influenza is to strengthen personal protection and avoid contact with the virus, and wearing latex gloves is currently an effective way to prevent contact between hands and the source of the disease. Therefore, the demand for latex gloves in the market will continue to rise.

In 2010, the production and sales of condoms reached around 6 billion units, of which 4 billion units were needed in the domestic market and 2 billion units were exported; The production and sales volume of medical gloves reached about 1.2 billion pairs, of which 400 million pairs were demanded in the domestic market and 800 million pairs were exported; The production and sales volume of inspection gloves has reached about 4 billion units, of which 500 million units are needed in the domestic market and 3.5 billion units are exported; The production and sales volume of household gloves reached about 500 million pairs, of which the domestic market demand reached 350 million pairs and exports reached 150 million pairs. In addition, low protein latex, low allergen latex, modified latex, and synthetic special latex have been commercialized successively, providing new raw materials for the latex industry, and new products of characteristic latex products continue to emerge.

The development of related industries has also put forward new requirements for latex products. The development of the healthcare industry will lead to an increasing demand for condoms, medical gloves, examination gloves, blood transfusion tubes, and various medical catheters. Especially because of the spread of AIDS, the demand for condoms, medical gloves and inspection gloves, the main products in latex products, has soared.

Rubber stopper becomes the second largest medical rubber product

From the market demand for medical rubber plugs and the number of domestic and foreign medical rubber plug manufacturers, medical rubber plugs are the second largest demand for medical rubber products after latex products.

Shijiazhuang Rubber Co., Ltd. is a production base for medicinal PP rubber plugs (synthetic polyisoprene gaskets) and butyl rubber plugs in China, with an annual production capacity of 6 billion medicinal rubber plugs. Medical rubber stopper products include: PP rubber stopper, butyl rubber stopper.

Ningbo Xingya Rubber&Plastic Group is composed of five enterprises: Ningbo Xingya Rubber&Plastic Group Co., Ltd., Ninghai Meilin Rubber Co., Ltd., Ningbo Siming Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Ningbo Xingya Mold Factory, and Shanghai Yangzhou Precision Machinery Co., Ltd. Its main products are various medical rubber products such as butyl rubber bottle stoppers.

Shijiazhuang Yaofeng Rubber and Plastic Factory mainly produces natural antibiotic rubber stoppers, medical infusion rubber stoppers (natural), oral liquid rubber stoppers, etc.

Chongqing Kangsheng Medical Rubber Co., Ltd. mainly deals in rubber stoppers for infusion bottles, antibiotic bottles, syrup bottles, etc.

Jining Tongli Rubber Products Co., Ltd. mainly produces medical rubber plugs and various rubber sealing accessories. It is a designated enterprise for pharmaceutical packaging production in Shandong Province. The developed chlorinated butyl rubber plugs have filled the gap in the province and reached an advanced level.

With the widespread application of medical rubber plugs and the increasing demand for medical rubber plugs, butyl rubber and several modified rubbers are widely used as materials for the production of rubber plugs due to their excellent physical and chemical properties. Thermoplastic elastomer materials based on butyl rubber are also used to produce medical rubber plugs due to their low extraction rate and easy processing. According to incomplete statistics, the IIR used for producing rubber bottle stoppers reached 30000 tons in 2010.

Future Development Trends of Medical Rubber Products

In recent years, although China's medical rubber and its products have made significant progress, there is still a big gap compared to the requirements of developed and domestic medical development. This is mainly reflected in backward basic research, incomplete types of raw materials, the need for large-scale imports, unstable product quality and reliability, and low technical content and added value of products. However, according to relevant data, it is predicted that by 2015, the market value of human biomaterials implants used only for treatment and beauty in China will reach 800 million to 1 billion US dollars. Therefore, relevant departments should seize the opportunity to accelerate the development of medical rubber and products.

The rubber research and production department should accelerate the development of rubber types required for medical rubber products, and increase research and production of high-end medical MVQ, low protein natural latex, IIR, especially XIIR, and degradable medical PU elastomers. The classification of medical rubber and other medical polymer materials should be downplayed, and overall development should be coordinated with medical polymer materials. Special attention should be paid to the research and production of medical rubber and rubber modified medical polymer materials, while closely cooperating with medical, drug testing, animal testing, clinical trials, and other aspects. Study the biodegradability and biocompatibility of medical rubber and its products; Promote the biological functionalization and intelligence of medical rubber products; Expand the application scope of rubber products for pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and pharmaceutical packaging, and quickly achieve large-scale production to narrow the technological gap with developed countries.

Taking silicone rubber medical rubber products as an example, although silicone rubber occupies a very important position in the medical field, many problems still need to be solved. The main development direction is to improve hydrophilic properties. Due to the hydrophobicity of silicone rubber, there is still a slight foreign body sensation after its products are implanted into the body, so efforts should be made to improve the hydrophilicity of silicone rubber. The main solution to this problem is surface modification, such as coating hydrophilic substances on the surface of silicone rubber, grafting the surface of silicone rubber using radiation method, plasma treatment, etc., all of which can improve its hydrophilicity.

In addition, in recent years, China's silicone rubber production capacity has developed rapidly, but there are relatively few grades of medical silicone rubber products. However, Dow Corning in the United States has over 40 brand grades and over 500 types of medical rubber products. Both Shin Etsu in Japan and Rhodia in France have identified medical silicone rubber as their main development targets. In the past two years, China's organic silicon and silicone rubber have developed rapidly, with nearly ten large and medium-sized companies, including multiple listed companies, providing raw material guarantees for the development of medical silicone rubber. Therefore, China should make use of its raw material advantages, learn from foreign development experience, and combine with modern medicine to vigorously develop multiple varieties and scales of medical silicone rubber and its products.

Medical rubber is an emerging high scoring material derived from the continuous advancement of modern medicine and rubber new material technology. It is an important component of biomaterials, and medical rubber and its products have spread throughout the entire medical field, with a sustained and rapid growth in usage. With the gradual improvement of the global economy and the rapid growth of China's national economy, the demand for medical rubber products in domestic and foreign markets is also increasing, and the research and promotion of medical rubber materials are becoming increasingly active.