Irish start-up Kastus Technologies, which recently secured €1.5 million in investment through the Atlantic Bridge University Fund, has launched two new revolutionary superbug-killing products at the Arab Health event in Dubai.
The company is in Dubai as part of Enterprise Ireland’s trade mission to the healthcare exhibition, which last year attracted over 130,000 visitors from 163 countries.
Kastus, which early last year announced it would commercialise research that had yielded a significant discovery to help in the fight against antibiotic resistant superbugs, has launched Log4+ and Kastus Metal.
Log4+ is an antimicrobial coating that can be used on ceramic or glass surfaces to protect against superbugs such as MRSA and E.coli while Kastus Metal is a coating for metal surfaces including steel and aluminium.
Superbugs are forecast to kill 10 million people worldwide by 2050.
Kastus, which was founded by chief executive John Browne, is based at the Greenway Hub at DIT Grangegorman.
‘Ideal opportunity’
“The uniqueness of antimi crobial surface treatment means that real-world applications are endless with global commercial appeal. It is very exciting to today launch the first in a range of patented products which we plan to bring to global markets,” said Mr Browne.
Kastus is close to selling into both the US and UK markets and are currently working with a number of companies in the electronics and healthcare sectors on collaborative trials in both markets. The startup is also working to finalise approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
“We have already achieved excellent results in trials with several international customers who have been searching for such a solution for years. The plan is to supply customers in the electronics and healthcare sectors in 2017,” he added.
Kastus is one of 20 Enterprise Ireland client companies that are attending the exhibition and conference, which has become a strategically important event for companies looking to build market presence in the region.
Other Irish firms appearing at Arab Health include Aerogen, AmRay Medical, CF Pharma Ireland, Crospon, Fleming Medical, IPC Polymers, Locatible, Miravex, Novaerus, Sedana Medical, Synchrophi Systems and 3D4 Medical.
Minister for Employment and Small Business Pat Breen, who is leading the trade visit, said exports by EI client companies to the United Arab Emirates in 2015 totalled €124 million.
“By providing a platform for Irish companies to present their solutions and network with leading healthcare professionals, Arab Health is an ideal opportunity to position Ireland as a source of world-class high tech products and solutions for the UAE healthcare sector,” he said.
