Tristel Regulatory News (TSTL)

Tristel plc

("Tristel" or "the Company")

Study shows comparable efficacy of Tristel Wipes

Tristel's chlorine dioxide wipes are validated as a viable alternative to peracetic acid disinfectants for the high-level disinfection of flexible nasendoscopes

Tristel plc (AIM: TSTL), the manufacturer of infection prevention products, announces that a study conducted at the Khoo Tech Puat Hospital, Singapore, has concluded that the Tristel Wipe has comparable efficacy to a world leading peracetic acid high-level disinfectant (Rapicide; Cantel Medical, New Jersey, USA), and provides significant other advantages to a hospital.

The study has been published in the International Journal of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery (Gan YJ et al. Int J. Otorhinolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2018 Jan; 4(1):18-23). Cantel is one of the world's largest dedicated infection prevention companies quoted on the NYSE.

The study took place in the Ear, Nose and Throat clinic during 2014. One hundred patients volunteered to participate and for each endoscopic examination one nasendoscope disinfected by Rapicide and one nasendoscope disinfected by a Tristel Wipe was used to scope each nasal passage of the patient. From swabbing each nasendoscope pre and post disinfection to reveal evidence of bacterial contamination the study concludes that Rapicide and the Tristel Wipe are statistically equivalent in terms of efficacy.

In addition to being comparable with Rapicide the study identifies other significant advantages of the Tristel Wipe. These benefits are rapid turnaround of the nasendoscope (2-3 minutes for Tristel versus 20 minutes for Rapicide) which means the clinic can see more patients in a day with fewer nasendoscopes; Tristel's safety from a health standpoint, and the Tristel Wipe's portability which means that it can be easily taken to the emergency department or to the wards. This is important as even though most ENT departments are out-patient areas, frequently in-patients carry MRSA, vancomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE), and even tuberculosis, and need to have a nasendoscopy. The Tristel Wipe can easily be taken to them to enable the examination.

The Tristel Wipes System is a unique, patented decontamination method for non-lumened endoscopes and ultrasound probes. It has been a very significant sales success for the Company globally. Worldwide sales of the Wipes System in the financial year ending June 2017 were £11.5m.

Paul Swinney, CEO, comments: "We are pleased to see the publication in a peer-reviewed journal of yet another study comparing our Wipe with a leading peracetic acid high-level disinfectant - Cantel's Rapicide product. Peracetic acid is the most widely used high-level disinfectant chemistry in Europe and probably the United States also. The results affirm the key advantages of our Wipes over alternative chemistries and disinfection methods. These advantages are the level and speed of kill and the capability of our Wipe System to be deployed anywhere within a healthcare setting without the need for power, water and space. This is the thirty first peer-reviewed and published scientific paper featuring Tristel products - a body of evidence of our products' attributes that forms one of our Company's key strengths."

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