HAYWARD, Calif., Sept. 18, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Applied Silver, Inc. today announced that the Company has received federal approval from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to make public health claims for its patented SilvaClean® product in healthcare and sports medicine industries. This is the first time EPA has approved public health claims for a residual antimicrobial laundry additive and agrees that SilvaClean is an efficacious addition to Healthcare and Sports Infection Control programs. “This is a transformative moment for healthcare professionals, patients, and their families who worry about the spread in infections in all healthcare settings,” said Dr. Priya Balachandran, microbiology/infectious disease expert and Vice President at Applied Silver.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 1 in 25 admitted patients get healthcare-associated infections (HAI); HAIs are a significant and growing concern among infectious disease experts, healthcare workers and facility executives; and hospitals and sports programs spend billions of dollars annually to address this problem.
EPA approved the public health claims for SilvaClean based on third party Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) data demonstrating a 99.9 % kill of key pathogens Staphylococcus aureus (at six hours) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (at three hours). These data were supported by multi-year clinical studies in collaboration with a Stanford University scientist confirming that textiles are routinely re-contaminated with microbes during storage, handling and use, even after undergoing a certified hygienically clean laundry process. The study further demonstrated that by regularly laundering those textiles with SilvaClean, microbes, including Staphylococcus were significantly reduced before, during and after patient use.
“Infection control programs that include SilvaClean along with standard practices such as hand hygiene and hard surface cleaning have been demonstrated to have reduced HAI rates in clinical settings”, added Dr. Balachandran.
SilvaClean Infuses Silver Ions into Fabrics Killing Microbes
and Providing Lasting (Residual) Protection
SilvaClean® is a smart technology system that infuses textiles with pure silver ions during the laundry rinse cycle, where they bond with fabrics to residually kill pathogens, mold and mildew, eliminating odors, helping to remove stains and reducing static. SilvaClean is a patented, EPA approved laundry additive product enabled by an Internet of Things (IoT) dispensing system that leaves fabrics with residual antimicrobial properties even after laundering (e.g. in storage, during handling and in use).
“Silver is enormously effective and can be used in all health-conscious environments,” said Dr. Balachandran. “The application is incredibly easy and cost-effective for hospitals and professional sports teams to implement because it can integrate with their existing laundry and inventory processes. In this way, SilvaClean provides an automated infection control strategy for any launderable soft surfaces.”
“The commercial applications of the SilvaClean product are deep and broad,” expanded Dr. Balachandran. “We believe SilvaClean will help the healthcare industry dramatically reduce the human and financial cost of HAI management.” She continued, “SilvaClean can also help sports teams and their medical programs provide safer locker rooms and environments for their athletes, keeping them in the game. In addition, we’re confident that the hospitality industry, hotels, and restaurants, in particular, will welcome cleaner, healthier environments for their patrons. And with aging populations and environmentally conscious consumers, we also see SilvaClean providing a real point of differentiation in both the consumer laundry additive and appliance industries.”
The Company, which will soon close Series B funding, has also secured a key go-to-market partnership with a leading medical supplies company, according to Applied Silver’s Executive Chairwoman Elizabeth Hutt Pollard. Ms. Hutt Pollard also noted that the technology is currently in evaluation with professional sports teams.
About Applied Silver, Inc.
Hayward, California-based Applied Silver, Inc. develops commercial applications based on technologies that harness the antimicrobial power of silver ions. The Company’s flagship product, SilvaClean® is a patented EPA approved laundry additive that provides residual efficacy to textiles, killing harmful bacteria, mold and mildew and reducing stains, odors and static. The Company, which was incorporated in 2012, is commercially active in healthcare and sports and is developing applications for hospitality and consumer use.
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