Lifecore Biomedical, Inc.
A maker of sterile injectable medicines and medical devices, Lifecore Biomedical is a contract manufacturer producing pharmaceutical-grade sodium hyaluronate—the gel-like substance naturally found in the human eye—used in cataract surgery, orthopedics, and wound care. It traces its roots to 1981 in Chaska, Minnesota, built around the tricky task of making this thick, viscous material, and adopted the name 'Lifecore' in the late 1980s. Its product helps surgeons keep the eye's shape during cataract removal.