Freestyle Partners, LLC on the Path to Bring The Power to Inactivate Pathogens to Market

DETROIT, June 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Freestyle Partners, LLC announced today that it has received rapid allowance of five patents from the U.S. and foreign patent offices covering portable, handheld uses of filtered Far UV-C light to eradicate pathogens on commonly touched surfaces in seconds. The latest patent to gain government approval grants Freestyle exclusive rights on any portable, handheld device that uses ultraviolet light, including all forms of UV-C light, to measure the distance from a device to a targeted surface for properly inactivating pathogens. 

Earlier Freestyle patents awarded since the beginning of 2021 include illuminating the surface area where pathogens are targeted for inactivation, with visible light as well as with filtered Far UV-C light, which testing has shown to be safe for disinfecting* human skin. Additionally, the commercial design has also now been protected in the United States and Europe, while still pending in several other countries.

Patents typically take three to five years to secure, according to attorney Greg DeGrazia, a principal at Miller Canfield and member of Freestyle's leadership team who focuses on the protection of U.S. and foreign intellectual property. The speed with which the initial patents have been allowed, which was only months from filing, indicates that the government recognizes the technology's significant potential.

Freestyle's growing patent portfolio includes dozens of pending patents spanning 50+ countries.

While conventional UV-C light has been used for more than 100 years to disinfect operating rooms in hospitals, it requires clearing a room and/or utilizing protective gear to guard those applying it from harmful side effects like skin cancer and cataracts.

Filtered Far UV-C is a breakthrough, disruptive technology developed by a team of researchers led by David Brenner, PhD, director of the Center for Radiological Research at Columbia University. It has been extensively tested and endorsed by leading institutions across the world in peer-reviewed, scientific journals. Studies have shown the technology has the same efficacy as conventional UV-C and is scientifically tested technology shown to be safe to use when used within the current American Conference of Governmental Hygienists (ACGIH) dose limits when humans are present because it does not penetrate the layer of dead cells on skin or the tear layer of the eye.

Dr. Brenner, a pioneering champion of filtered Far UV-C light, originally focused on testing the technology as an overhead solution to safely inactivate airborne and surface pathogens. Columbia University subsequently secured its first issued patent for filtered Far UV-C in 2018.  Tokyo-based lighting giant Ushio Inc., with revenue nearing $1.5 billion USD in fiscal year 2019, secured an exclusive license to Columbia's patent in 2015 and subsequently began manufacturing high-efficacy, filtered Far UV-C lamps.

Freestyle, which had been in discussions with Dr. Brenner for three years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, also established a development and commercialization agreement with Ushio America, Inc. This paved the way for Freestyle to develop working models of a handheld, battery-operated, filtered Far UV-C device that successfully applies Ushio's existing Care222® technology.  Studies have shown that Care222 can inactivate pathogens such as coronavirus, Influenza, E. coli, Salmonella and more from commonly touched surfaces in seconds; and when used within ACGIH dose limits, this can be achieved in a way that is safe on human skin and eyes in occupied settings.

Freestyle is currently in discussions with launch partners to help bring its innovative portable, handheld device to market. 

*All references to "disinfection" are referring generally to the reduction of pathogenic bioburden and are not intended to refer to any specific definition of the term as may be used for other purposes by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Columbia University has received research funding from Freestyle Partners, LLC to continue studying the safety and efficacy of Far UV-C technology.

About Freestyle Partners, LLC
Based in Detroit, Freestyle Partners, LLC is an IP accelerator, focused on bringing leading-edge concepts to acquisition or commercialization. Founded in 2012 by marketing and branding experts Jennifer Rosen and Ben Feeney, Freestyle Partners has a focus of identifying and delivering new revenue opportunities and conceiving new ventures in both corporate and start-up environments that have driven profitable growth, created culture change, and impassioned people. 

SOURCE Freestyle Partners, LLC