Hospital acquired infections (HAI) are the #1 quality and safety issue for healthcare facilities, affecting nearly 5% of all patients and causing 100,000 deaths annually. This is greater than the number of deaths from diabetes and prostate cancer combined.These cases burden the U.S. healthcare industry with over $35B a year in unreimburseable costs, fueling sales of $1.5B worth of infection prevention products. This legacy market has existing solutions, ranging from low cost disinfectant wipes and sprays to expensive capital equipment. However, none of these current technologies completely addresses the growing needs of this market and, in particular, the demand for fast and flexible point of care infection control.

Sterifre Medical Inc. (Sterifre) is commercializing a flexible disinfection process that is poised to address the growing infection control challenges of healthcare facilities. The company’s patented AURA System is comprised of microspray hydrogen and cold plasma ozone in unique combinations, operating at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. These conditions enable fast point of care disinfection of a broad range of devices and sensitive materials commonly used in healthcare facilities, including plastics, metals, glass and electronics. This contrasts with existing technologies, which employ harsh chemicals, heat, and/or operate under vacuum, ultimately limiting material and device compatibility. Additionally, the system is designed to reduce ongoing capital and operating expenses for the customer.

The company's been granted expedited registration with the Environmental Protection Agency, which regulates microbicides used for hospital disinfection. Sterifre is concurrently seeking EPA approval under the Emerging Viral Pathogens Program for inactivating SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.