Xenex Disinfection Services Secures $11.3 Million in Funding

Xenex Disinfection Services announces that 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. 
 
Xenexs 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 hospitals 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 a 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 UV room disinfection company whose customers have published peer reviewed outcome studies showing a reduction in infection rates after implementing Xenexs disinfection technology, says Morris Miller, CEO of Xenex. We want to get our devices into hospitals as quickly as possible to help solve this enormous problem. 
 
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 thats what the Xenex technology accomplishes, says Mark Stibich, PhD, 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 Xenexs 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 after implementing an infection prevention program that included Xenexs room disinfection system.
 
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. 

Source: Xenex Disinfection Services