Five leading companies in the medical device industry have launched the PRIME project, a strategic initiative dedicated to advancing the consistency, scalability, and performance of nitinol materials. PRIME, which stands for PRoficient Ingot Material Evaluation, brings together deep technical expertise from every stage of the nitinol value chain.
The founding members are Fort Wayne Metals (ingot melting), Vascotube and Euroflex (tube drawing), and Admedes and MeKo MedTech (component manufacturing). Together, the consortium spans the complete nitinol production chain from melting through tube processing to final device assembly.
The initiative was created to strengthen supply chain stability and meet rising market demands through joint testing, real-world validation, and transparent evaluation of new ingot sources. A key goal is to prevent monopolistic dependencies and mitigate future supply risks for critical medical applications such as stents and heart valve frames.
Technical papers with testing data will be made available through the consortium’s website, and ingots, tubes, and components will be available for independent testing and production validation.
