US trials help Bioquell clean up losses

Following a successful trial of its technology in the US, Bioquell, the UK bio-decontamination specialist, enjoyed a strong end to 2005, transforming a £700,000 loss into a small profit.

Its 10-month superbug eradication trial, which produced a 53 per cent reduction in hospital-acquired infections, has resulted in the Hampshire company increasing its turnover 11 per cent to £17.2m.

The group now expects

sales growth to outstrip the

because of the financial woes afflicting the NHS.

Bioquell said data presented at a leading US healthcare infection control conference, in collaboration with the US Government's Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), showed that the use of its technology significantly reduced the rate of patient infection with Clostridium difficile — an antibiotic superbug that recently mutated to produce a new, hyper-virulent strain that causes severe illness and possible death.

The technology, developed three years ago, enables rooms or buildings to be bio-decontaminated and achieve the same level of sterility as when a steam steriliser is used — thanks to its hydrogen peroxide vapour technology. Prior to this innovation, it was not realistically practical or feasible for hospitals to sterilise rooms or wards to eradicate problematic bacteria.