By Harro ten Wolde

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - DSM NV (DSMN.AS: Quote, Profile, Research) grabbed pole position in the biomedical polymer market, one of its key growth areas, with the acquisition of privately held The Polymer Technology Group (PTG), the Dutch chemicals firm said on Monday.

PTG, which produces contact lenses and catheters, is expected to realise $40 million in sales this year and is expected to grow by an annual 20 percent in the next three to five years, DSM said in a statement.

"With this acquisition we buy a leading position in a fast growing market," DSM's Chief Executive Feike Sijbesma told Reuters.

The deal, which is expected to close this quarter, will enable DSM to realise 100 million euros ($155.9 million) in sales in the biomedical materials market by 2012.

DSM shares rose 0.7 percent to 33.57 euros by 0956 GMT, compared with a 1.1 percent rise for the DJ Stoxx European chemical sector index .

The size of the global biomedical materials market is $1.5 billion and is expected to grow at an annual rate of 15 percent, Sijbesma said.

He said he expected the purchase to help DSM optimise its knowledge of polymers and its expertise in medical products.

"We have always said we want to benefit from cross overs in our expertise in life sciences and materials sciences," he said.