After expanding to the North Texas region only a few weeks ago, a local startup announced it has created a new product that could help fight transmission of the coronavirus.
Fort Worth- and California-based clinical stage biotech startup CAGE Bio announced that through its research into other areas of health, it has discovered a novel hand sanitizer that can provide long-lasting virus, fungus and bacteria protection on the skin.
Called IonLAST, the hand sanitizer product uses ionic liquid as opposed to most sanitizers that use alcohol-based solutions. Due to this, CAGE says that in addition to killing germs on contact it also “preserves an elevated state” of protection for more than four hours. The company said the product is able to do this because the ionic liquid does not evaporate as quickly as alcohol. However, it notes that since it consists of natural materials, it is safe for use on skin.
“Long-lasting protection will play an important role in helping Americans get back to their lives, workplaces and routine activities as the country continues to reopen," said Nitin Joshi, CEO and co-founder at CAGE Bio, in a statement. “While washing hands and following CDC prevention guidelines continues to be important, applying IonLAST after each washing or between washings is easy and delivers confidence by minimizing the risk of viral and bacterial transmission.”
While CAGE Bio’s main focus is on developing topical products for localized treatment, using its proprietary ionic liquid technology and proprietary drug-delivery platform, IonLast was created specifically in response to the pandemic. Clinical testing for the product took place at BioScience Laboratories in Montana. Results of those test were submitted to the journal bioRxiv for publication.
According to CAGE, an undisclosed manufacturer in California is currently in the process of doing a pilot production run of the product.
The company’s technology was originally licensed from the University of California at Santa Barbra. Earlier this month, CAGE announced a research and development agreement with Japan-based Nitto Denko Corporation to develop therapeutic drug formulations for the skin.
“We are moving quickly to ramp up manufacturing and distribution and are speaking with a number of potential partners to bring this novel innovation to US consumers to maximize public benefit, combating the pandemic,” Joshi said.
Launched in 2018, the company raised more than $5.5 million in equity funding in 2019 from 36 investors, in a deal that included more than $2.1 million in debt cancelation and more than $3.4 million in new cash, according to a filing with the SEC. Earlier this month, the company announced plans to move into the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth to use the center’s laboratory space and resources. Among its board, the company counts Ravi Srinivasan, who founded Dallas-based biotech startup OncoNano Medicine, which has raised nearly $57 million in VC dollars and grants since its founding in 2014, as its lead.
