New Product, page-6

Just a couple more comments on the Saban Ventures patent on a process for Endoscope Cleaning with Viscoelastic Liquid.

Looking at the process description more closely and considering whether the process might be a candidate for the next potential Nanosonics product to be commercialised, it is relevant to note the NAN half year report presentation (26/2/20), in which the CEO stated that the next product to be commercialised would have both capital and consumable components.

In this regard, the patent application for the above process implies potential for a proprietary pre-mixed consumables package but a non-proprietary capital component (a peristaltic pump), albeit a pump operated according to specific parameters specified by the process proponent. The following extract from the patent application sheds some light on the matter.

"In one embodiment, the viscoelastic liquid is premixed and provided as stable and ready to use material in a cartridge, flexible bag, bottle, canister or any other suitable packaging. The packaging containing the viscoelastic liquid is placed in line with the endoscope and the viscoelastic liquid is simply pumped from the packaging with the controlled flow rate with suitable pumps, e.g. peristaltic pumps, into lumens, cylinders, valve sockets and connectors of the endoscope ... The viscoelastic liquid is passed through the endoscope for a suitable time to remove the biological material, depending upon the initial level of contamination and the construction of the endoscope. "

Whether there would be any commercial logic in NAN supplying clients with a precalibrated peristaltic pump (a non-proprietary capital component) for facilitating the delivery of proprietary consumables and ultimately the patented endoscope cleaning process, is difficult to gauge, but would be a critical issue to clarify before getting too serious about the potential for the endoscope cleaning process to be NAN's next commercial product.

Another factor that needs to be taken into account is that NAN's newly patented endoscope cleaning process does not claim to extend beyond cleaning to high level disinfection or sterilisation. However, effective cleaning of endoscopes - particularly endoscope lumens is an essential precondition for assurance about the efficacy of any subsequent high level disinfection process because, as I understand it, one of the key tasks of endoscope cleaning is to break down and remove congealed biocontaminants such as blood, mucus, or faecal matter, prior to high level disinfection. This is where NAN's endoscope cleaning process seems to come into its own.

So, a bit more to mull over, but hopefully all will be revealed by NAN sooner rather than later.

zeno9