Shares in infection control and prevention specialist Byotrol (BYOT:AIM) surged 5% higher on Friday to 6.52p after the company announced a landmark test protocol for long-lasting antiviral efficacy.
STANDING BY PRODUCT CLAIMS
Byotrol developed the new test in response to an increasing number of products appearing that claim long-lasting efficacy against Covid-19 under laboratory conditions which ignore real-life effects such as abrasion on surfaces.
The company is now standing behind product efficacy claims that the test offers 24-hour protection against viruses and bacteria in real-life conditions.
The new virus test was developed in the company’s virology lab and validated externally by Professor James Stewart, Chair of Molecular Virology at the University of Liverpool.
Byotrol said testing was limited to 24 hours to ensure the result is attributable to the product and not the length of time it has been left out on a dry surface.
The application of the test could help consumers and businesses select proven products for a variety of public spaces, improving public health.
BSI APPROVED
The company previously developed the industry standard test for efficacy under real life conditions against bacteria and yeast. That was approved by the British Standards Institute (BSI) in 2014 and is currently being reviewed by the CEN Committee for approval as a new European EN test standard.
Byotrol plans to get the new virus test BSI approved so that it becomes the British standard for proving disinfectant effectiveness against viruses.
Chief technology officer Trevor Francis commented: ‘It’s a huge win for consumers and the government as we return to normality beyond the pandemic.’
The company said at its recent (7 December) interim results that demand for its products remained high and that it expected future demand to settle substantially above pre-Covid 19 levels.
