Creo Medical gets £2m loan to develop sterilisation technology
By Josh White
Date: Thursday 02 Jul 2020
(Sharecast News) - Medical device company Creo Medical Group has secured a £2m loan from the Cardiff Capital Region project, it announced on Thursday, to develop its 'Cool Plasma' technology as a method to kill bacteria and viruses and for sterilisation purposes.
The AIM-traded firm said its technology had both medical and non-medical applications, with initial testing demonstrating that it could be effective for Covid-19 inactivation and decontamination.
It said it believed the technology had the potential for use in wound care, medical device sterilisation, personal protective equipment (PPE) sterilisation, endoscope sterilisation to kill the bacteria associated with urinary tract infections, as well as general sterilisation and cleaning of enclosed environments within the service and transport sectors.
The company said the five-year loan would ultimately support the creation of Creo's plasma division, which would focus on the use of its 'Croma Advanced Energy' platform to create safe environments through sterilisation and decontamination.
It said the Cool Plasma technology had a "proven" high efficacy kill of bacteria, and was expected to be "highly effective" in the inactivation of viruses.
Six log, or 99.9999%, kill had been shown on the most resilient bacteria, including MRSA. E.Coli, K.Pneumoniae and C.difficile.
Initial research and third-party testing indicated a consistent view that Cool Plasma would inactivate, or 'kill', the SARS-CoV-2, or Covid-19 virus, given its performance on relatively "tougher" bacteria.
End market applications were described as "wide", but would be initially focused on the urgent needs of Covid-19, including virus inactivation or sterilisation inside the working channel of endoscopes, on PPE, hospital equipment including ventilators, personal sanitisation, dentistry and the environmental decontamination including beds, rooms, wards, ambulances and other areas.
The board said the Cool Plasma technology was covered by strong intellectual property protection, including patents, with the company developing a number of prototype working devices as well as collecting scientific evidence, working with partners including University College Hospital in London, the University of the West of England in Bristol, the National Institute for Health Research, and the Griffin Institute at Northwick Park.
"The Cool Plasma technology was one of Creo's very early projects, which was originally focused on hand sanitisation," said chief technology officer, professor Chris Hancock.
"I'm delighted that we are able to advance this technology which has a variety of applications."
Hancock said the current pandemic had highlighted the need to focus on technology that could limit the spread of coronavirus, adding that he was "excited" that the company had support from the Cardiff Capital Region to commercialise its patented technology as part of its Covid-19 response.
"The backing of the Cardiff Capital Region provides us with the opportunity to further leverage the infrastructure in Wales and the network of support being provided for innovative businesses like Creo."
At 1130 BST, shares in Creo Medical Group were up 0.5% at 210.04p.
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