Chemicals group Solvay (Brussels / Belgium; www.solvay.com) said its medical grade “KetaSpire” PEEK resins were chosen by US flow measurement and control solutions maker Malema Sensors (Boca Raton, Florida; www.malema.com) for use in Malema’s “SumoFlo” single-use Coriolis flow meters. Malema is said to have evaluated multiple PEEK grades for its devices, which it introduced this decade. Malema noted that it offers the industry’s first and only PEEK single-use flow meter for the life sciences industry.

KetaSpire is used to produce the all-plastic wetted path components of the device, which measures mass and volumetric flow, temperature and density. The Solvay material is said to deliver exceptional physical properties, including a very high Young’s modulus, to meet USP Class VI requirements, withstand gamma sterilisation and ensure extremely low leachables and extractables for high cleanliness.

The biopharmaceutical industry’s transition from stainless-steel bioprocessing infrastructure to single-use components avoids contamination while supporting the rapid scale-up of vaccine manufacturing. Malema said it supplied leading biopharma manufacturers with process skids used during the US government’s “Operation Warp Speed” programme introduced in May 2020 to facilitate the development, manufacture and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics.