HeiQ launches treated masks against the Corona Virus

The Swiss company HeiQ has leveraged its more than 15 years in textile products to launch HeiQ Viroblock NPJ03, an antiviral and antimicrobial textile treatment designed with a unique combination of vesicle and silver technologies to inhibit the growth and persistence of bacteria and viruses. According to a HeiQ press release, the treatment has proven to be effective against human coronavirus in face mask testing, significantly enhancing the antiviral log reduction from 2.90 of untreated face masks to 4.48, over 99.99% reduction of virus infectivity. 

While the Chinese protective masks producer, Suzhou Bolisi is the lead adopter of HeiQ Viroblock NPJ03, the American legwear manufacturer Kayser-Roth is planning to add the technology to their new product, Ghluv hands protector, and Lufeng from China is evaluating the technology on other types of fabric used for garments. Treated masks will be available on the market as early as this April. 

Carlo Centonze, HeiQ Group CEO, says “virologist Thierry Pelet of HeiQ’s Scientific Advisory Board brought us a profound depth of knowledge and accelerated our efforts to address the urgent problem of a global pandemic”. 

“I’m impressed by HeiQ’s ability to fast track such a complex innovation and bring this breakthrough to globally critical products in a short time,” comments Thierry Pelet of HeiQ’s Scientific Advisory Board. Dr Thierry Pelet obtained his PhD in molecular virology in 1996 at the University of Geneva. He performed his post-doctoral studies at the Clinical Research Institute in Montreal and subsequently worked as a senior scientist in several virology laboratories. Thierry was CEO of Viroblock SA from 2005-2010, and CSO from 2010-2016. Since 2017, he is Project Head for HelloMask at EPFL (Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology Lausanne), a project in scientific collaboration with EMPA of St. Gallen.

(Press release / RAN / SK)
Picture: Carlo Centonze (left), Thierry Pelet