Xenex Secures $11.3 Million in Funding; Superbug Zapping Robot Enhances Patient Safety by Eliminating Pathogens that Cause Hospital Infections
SAN ANTONIO — Xenex Disinfection Services, the world leader in UV room disinfection systems for healthcare facilities, today announced it has secured $11.3 million in funding. The new funding includes participation from Battery Ventures, Targeted Technology Fund II and continued investment from existing investors including RK Ventures. The capital will be used for product development, international expansion, and increasing the company’s U.S. sales force.
Solving a Global Health Crisis
According to a recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report, each year in the U.S., at least two million people become infected with bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics and at least 23,000 people die as a direct result of these infections. Xenex’s portable UV room disinfection system uses pulsed xenon ultraviolet light to destroy the viruses, bacteria, mold, fungus and bacterial spores in the patient environment that cause healthcare associated infections (HAI). Its intense, broad-spectrum light penetrates the pathogens’ cell walls, causing the DNA to fuse instantly, rendering them unable to reproduce or mutate. Uniquely designed for ease of use and portability, a hospital’s environmental services staff can operate the Xenex device without disrupting hospital operations and without the use of expensive chemicals. With a five minute disinfection cycle, the device disinfects dozens of rooms per day, including patient rooms, operating rooms (ORs), equipment rooms, emergency rooms, intensive care units (ICUs) and public areas. The Xenex device contains no mercury or hydrogen peroxide and is the only “green” technology used in automated room disinfection.
“Healthcare associated infections are a global health crisis. In the United States alone, 278 people lose their lives every day from an infection they unnecessarily acquired during their hospital visit. The Xenex technology is proven and is rapidly gaining acceptance. Xenex is the only company whose customers have published peer reviewed outcome studies showing a reduction in infection rates after implementing Xenex’s disinfection technology,” said Morris Miller, CEO of Xenex. “We want to get our devices into hospitals as quickly as possible to help solve this enormous problem.”
Published Studies Validate Xenex’s Efficacy on Deadly Pathogens
Peer reviewed studies have proven that the Xenex technology is highly effective at eliminating bacteria, viruses and even C.diff spores in the hospital environment. “Proper disinfection that eliminates the pathogens that cause HAIs is what must be done, as we can no longer rely on antibiotics to protect the public from these increasingly deadly ‘nightmare’ bacteria and microorganisms. The most important step in infection control begins with a clean environment and that’s what the Xenex technology accomplishes,” said Mark Stibich, Chief Scientific Officer of Xenex. “We are in a war against deadly superbugs – and Xenex is a proven weapon in this battle.”
Nearly 200 hospitals and Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities in the U.S. are using the Xenex room disinfection system, which has proven to be 20 times more effective than standard chemical cleaning practices. The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center recently studied the efficacy of Xenex’s pulsed xenon UV light room disinfection system on C.diff and VRE. One study found that the Xenex technology was superior to bleach, the disinfectant most commonly used to combat C.diff, for cleaning rooms. Other studies reported a reduction in the number of patients contracting C.diff and VRE infections after the Xenex system was used to disinfect patient rooms. A study published in the August 2013 issue of the American Journal of Infection Control reported that Cooley Dickinson Hospital experienced a 53 percent decrease in the rate of hospital-acquired C.diff infections after implementing the Xenex system. A study published in Journal of Infection Prevention reported that Cone Health experienced a 56 percent reduction in its rate of hospital acquired MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) after implementing an infection prevention program that included Xenex’s room disinfection system.
Xenex Debuts New Product Design
Xenex recently unveiled the next version of its automated disinfection device. What makes the product revolutionary remains unchanged – its patented pulsed xenon lamp system – but includes many new user enhancements, including a simpler intuitive user interface, a new dent-resistant body made of brushed aluminum, “swerve-free” shock absorbing wheels and a concave top.
About Xenex Disinfection Services
Xenex’s patented pulsed xenon UV room disinfection system is a pesticidal device used for the advanced cleaning of healthcare facilities. Due to its speed and ease of use, the Xenex system has proven to integrate smoothly into hospital cleaning operations. The Xenex mission is to eliminate harmful bacteria, viruses and spores that can cause hospital acquired infections in the patient environment, and to become the new standard method for disinfection in healthcare facilities worldwide. For more information, visit www.xenex.com.
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