Xenex Secures $25 Million in Funding; Interest in Germ-Zapping Robot Heightened by Ebola Outbreak, Hospital Penalties for Inf...
27 January 2015 - 12:15PM
Business Wire
Xenex Disinfection Services, the world leader in automated
environmental disinfection technology for healthcare facilities,
today announced it has secured $25 million in new funding. The
financing includes new participation from Brandon Point Industries
Limited (Brandon Point) and continued investment from existing
investors including Battery Ventures, Targeted Technology Fund II
and RK Ventures. The financing will be used for product
development, international expansion and increasing the company's
U.S. sales force.
The Xenex germ-zapping robot is used to
quickly destroy the deadly superbugs and pathogens that cause
healthcare associated infections. The company has raised an
additional $25 million that will be used for product development,
international expansion and increasing the company's U.S. sales
force. (Photo: Business Wire)
Hospitals Penalized for Infection
Rates
U.S. hospitals face decreasing reimbursements and increased
public scrutiny as the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services
(CMS) and its Hospital Compare website focus on reducing healthcare
associated infections (HAIs). A growing number of U.S. healthcare
facilities are now evaluating new technologies for room
disinfection as a means to eliminate the deadly pathogens that
cause HAIs. Xenex’s patented pulsed xenon Full Spectrum™
ultraviolet (UV) disinfection technology is proven to quickly
destroy the viruses, bacteria, mold, fungus and bacterial spores in
healthcare facilities that cause infections. There are now six peer
reviewed studies confirming the efficacy of the Xenex Germ-Zapping
Robot™ in the healthcare environment, including three studies
showing a decrease in C.diff, MRSA and MDRO infections when the
hospital used the Xenex robot for room disinfection.
“Hospital acquired infections are a global problem and we have
proven that the use of our germ-zapping robot provides a cleaner,
and therefore safer healthcare environment,” said Morris Miller,
CEO of Xenex. “We are positioned for growth in 2015 and beyond
because we have a unique opportunity to do a service for humanity
while having a dramatic impact on a hospital’s bottom line. 724
U.S. hospitals were recently fined as a result of Value Based
Purchasing for causing infections – and we can help. Concern over
the spread of the Ebola virus has highlighted the fact that more
can and should be done to improve the healthcare environment that
is responsible for making patients and healthcare workers
sick.”
Uniquely designed for ease of use and portability, a hospital’s
environmental services staff can operate the Xenex robot without
disrupting hospital operations and without using expensive
chemicals. With a five-minute disinfection cycle, the robot
disinfects 30-62 hospital rooms per day (according to Xenex
customers), including patient rooms, operating rooms, equipment
rooms, emergency rooms, intensive care units and public areas. More
than 250 hospitals, Veterans Affairs and DoD facilities in the U.S.
are using Xenex robots, which are also in use in skilled nursing
facilities, ambulatory surgery centers and long term acute care
facilities.
Germ-Zapping Robots Proven to Quickly
Destroy Superbugs
President Obama recently brought the issue of multi-drug
resistant organisms (MDRO) to a national security level and issued
an Executive Order to stop the spread of drug resistant superbugs.
Proven to easily destroy these superbugs, the Xenex robot contains
no toxic mercury or hydrogen peroxide, and it is the only UV
disinfection technology that uses xenon, an
environmentally-friendly inert gas, to create UV light. The
intense, broad-spectrum light penetrates the pathogens’ cell walls,
causing the DNA to fuse instantly, rendering them unable to
reproduce or mutate.
Kelly Martin, a co-founder of Brandon Point, stated, “On behalf
of Brandon Point, we are looking forward to working with and
supporting the Xenex executive team and organization as well as
complementing their current investors. The company’s unique
technology can address important and immediate patient and
healthcare worker needs due to urgent worldwide disease outbreaks.
Through our collective and multi-faceted industry experiences
housed within Brandon Point, we look forward to providing relevant
guidance and assistance to Xenex’s management team.”
About Xenex Disinfection
Services
Xenex's patented pulsed xenon Full Spectrum 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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XenexMelinda Hart, 210-824-3433melinda.hart@xenex.com