2nd July 2020
Development loan for plasma sterilising product
Creo Medical Group plc (AIM: CREO), the medical device company focused on the emerging field of surgical endoscopy, announces that the Group has secured a £2m loan from the Cardiff Capital Region (“CCR”) to develop Creo’s Cool Plasma technology as a method to kill bacteria and viruses and for sterilisation purposes. Creo’s technology has both medical and non-medical applications and initial testing has demonstrated that it can be effective for COVID-19 inactivation and decontamination. The Company believes that the technology has the potential for use in wound care, medical device sterilisation, 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 five-year loan will ultimately support the creation of Creo’s Plasma Division which will focus on the use of Creo’s CROMA Advanced Energy platform to create safe environments through sterilisation and decontamination.
Creo’s Cool Plasma technology has a proven, high efficacy kill of bacteria, and is expected to be highly effective in the inactivation of viruses. 6 log (i.e. 99.9999%) kill has been shown on the most resilient bacteria, including MRSA. E.Coli, K.Pneumoniae and C. difficile. Initial research and third party testing indicates a consistent view that Creo’s Cool Plasma would inactivate (kill) the SARS-CoV-2 virus given its performance on relatively ‘tougher’ bacteria.
End market applications are wide but would be initially focused on COVID-19 urgent needs including virus inactivation (sterilisation) inside the working (instrument) channel of endoscopes, on PPE, hospital equipment (ventilators), personal sanitisation, dentistry and the environmental decontamination including beds, rooms, wards, ambulances and other areas. Creo’s Cool Plasma technology is covered by strong IP including patents and the Company has developed a number of prototype working devices and amassed scientific evidence, working with partners including University College Hospital (London); University of the West of England (Bristol), National Institute for Health Research, The Griffin Institute at Northwick Park (formerly NPIMR).
About the Cardiff Capital Region City Deal
The CCR is comprised of ten local authorities: Blaenau Gwent; Bridgend; Caerphilly; Cardiff; Merthyr Tydfil; Monmouthshire; Newport; Rhondda Cynon Taff; Torfaen; and Vale of Glamorgan. It is the largest city-region in Wales and accounts for approximately 50% of the total economic output of the Welsh economy, 49% of total employment and has over 38,000 active businesses.
The CCR City Deal is an agreement between the UK government, the Welsh government and the ten leaders of the local Cardiff Capital Region and has secured £1.2 billion to invest in the CCR’s infrastructure and will prioritise investment in research and development and provide support for high value innovative businesses.
Prof. Chris Hancock, Chief Technology Officer, commented: “The Cool Plasma technology was one of Creo’s very early projects, which was originally focused on hand sanitisation. I’m delighted that we are able to advance this technology which has a variety of applications. The current pandemic has highlighted the need to focus on technology that can limit the spread of Coronavirus and I am excited that we have support from the Cardiff Capital Region to commercialise our patented technology as part of our 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.”