Company partners with Rhinostics and P&G subsidiary iMFLUX to help increase access to advanced testing tools for Covid-19, influenza and other diseases
Rhinostics Standard Nasal Swab. Comfortable collection and novel material provide dry transport and sample concentration to improve COVID collection. (Credit: Business Wire)
Technimark has partnered with Rhinostics and a P&G subsidiary, iMFLUX, to produce, package and distribute individually packaged medical-grade polypropylene nasal swabs to help healthcare professionals and researchers detect and diagnose potential infections such as COVID-19.
iMFLUX developed a novel fully injection-molded polypropylene nasal swab that P&G and iMFLUX licensed to Rhinostics to bring to the clinical laboratory market. The novel swab allows for easy collection from the front of the nose and provides sample concentration of up to 30-fold over other swabs in viral transport media.
“Technimark is honored to join with other global leaders in healthcare innovation to address the increasing need for devices that can safely and accurately detect dangerous infections more quickly,” said Kris Peavy, president of Technimark’s Healthcare division. “Production of the medical-grade polypropylene nasal swabs began in April at Technimark’s headquarters in Asheboro. The swabs will be injection molded and packaged in an ISO Class 8 Cleanroom then sterilized prior to distribution.”
“We are proud to partner with Technimark, iMFLUX and P&G to bring new collection devices like the P&G nasal swab to clinical laboratory workflow,” said Cheri Walker, chief executive officer of Rhinostics. “Not only does the nasal swab production help to relieve supply chain bottlenecks, the new design and polypropylene materials allows for comfortable collection and sample concentration due to dry shipment and improved release of viral particles.”
Rhinostics plans to register the P&G polypropylene nasal swab as a Class I exempt medical device and will pursue Emergency Use Authorization for home collection with RT-PCR testing, the gold standard for detection of SARS-CoV-2 infection.
“We are excited to see the P&G and iMFLUX-developed nasal swab come to market through the efforts of Rhinostics and Technimark,” said Mary Wagner, senior vice president at P&G and CEO of iMFLUX. “When we began this program, our intention was simply to help relieve bottlenecks in COVID-19 swab supply. Our partnerships then allowed us to innovate and improve the safety and well-being of our consumers.”
Source: Company Press Release