Development of Biomedical Elastomer Material Industry in China

As key materials for medical devices and consumables, biomedical elastomer materials play a significant role in improving people's health and quality of life. The biomedical elastomer material industry has broad application prospects, high added values, and rapid growth, and currently faces new situations such as accelerated technological iteration and clinical demand upgrading. Therefore, it is urgent to conduct systematic research on the development of this industry. This study reviews the basic situations, industrial statuses, and development directions of related materials, categorized as follows: biomedical polyurethane elastomers and their medical products, biomedical silicone rubber and their medical products, and other biomedical elastomers (i.e., medical natural rubber, medical thermoplastic vulcanizates, medical thermoplastic elastomers, medical eucommia ulmoides gum elastomers, biodegradable biomedical elastomers, and hydrogel biomedical elastomers) and their medical products. The research indicates that the application range of biomedical elastomer materials in China is rapidly expanding, the market size is continuously growing, and the level of industrial development is steadily improving. However, there remain obvious shortcomings regarding material performance optimization, breakthroughs in key technologies, and construction of industrial standards systems. To this end, it is recommended to develop complex medical products that are widely and urgently needed clinically, promote the innovation and engineering application of raw materials and products, enhance the safety and market competitiveness of raw materials and products, and accelerate technological breakthroughs and industrialization through collaborative innovation, so as to promote the high-quality and sustainable development of the biomedical elastomer material industry in China.