BIOQUELL PLC, a UK company specializing in decontamination technology and testing/compliance services, has announced that its superbug eradication technology has been upgraded by the UK Department of Health's Rapid Review Panel (RRP) to Category One status. The RRP was set up by the Government in 2004 to facilitate the rapid review by an independent panel of leading UK infection control experts of the products and technologies which could be used to combat hospital-acquired infections, or superbugs, in National Health Service (NHS) hospitals. BIOQUELL's Hydrogen Peroxide Vapour (HPV) decontamination technology was one of the first technologies to be reviewed by the RRP. On 1 December, 2004, following a review of the scientific data available at the time, the RRP awarded BIOQUELL's technology Category Two status, which meant that: "Basic research and development has been completed, and the product may have potential value; in-use evaluations and trials are now needed in an NHS clinical setting." In early 2007 BIOQUELL submitted extensive scientific data to the RRP relating to its research activities and the deployment of its unique HPV decontamination technology against superbugs in hospitals in the UK, the US, and continental Europe.
Having now completed its assessment, the RRP has upgraded BIOQUELL's HPV technology to Category One status, which means that: "Basic research and development, validation and recent in-use evaluations have shown benefits that should be available to NHS bodies to include as appropriate in their cleaning, hygiene or infection control protocols." To date the RRP has reviewed 42 products or technologies to combat superbugs in the cleaning, disinfection and decontamination category and has awarded Category One status to only two companies – one of which is BIOQUELL. BIOQUELL's technology is the first product to be promoted to a new category by the RRP – which is indicative of the quality and volume of scientific efficacy data generated by BIOQUELL to support the use of its technology to eradicate superbugs in hospitals.
A significant proportion of the scientific data submitted by BIOQUELL to the RRP relate to the eradication of Clostridium difficile from sensitive electronic medical devices as well as rooms and wards in hospitals. For example, BIOQUELL has had a team permanently based at a leading US hospital for more than two years carrying out proactive decontaminations against C.diff. – and research from this hospital suggested that the use of BIOQUELL's technology directly contributed to a statistically significant 53% reduction in C.difficile associated disease. Abstracts of BIOQUELL's technology have recently been uploaded to an NHS/Department of Health website highlighting case studies relating to best practice involving the eradication or management of hospital acquired infection. The best practice website includes a description of the use of BIOQUELL's technology to eradicate C.diff at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust following a C.diff outbreak.
