Tristel lauds 'milestone' as products receive Chinese and Korean approval

Tristel on Monday received approval for its Duo High-Level disinfectant and its Sporicidal Wipe from regulatory bodies in China and South Korea, respectively.

The infection prevention and contamination control products manufacturer said it has a well-established presence in both China and South Korea, and will use its own sales force to sell Duo in China, while in South Korea the Sporicidal Wipe will go through its distributor, HP&C Ltd.

Paul Swinney, chief executive of Tristel, said: "Every regulatory approval we achieve represents an important milestone in our progress, but these two approvals have special significance. Duo ULT provides Chinese public hospitals with an affordable and easy-to-use method for the high-level disinfection of intra-vaginal ultrasound probes. Infection prevention experts within the country acknowledge the need for a disinfection technology that will enable hospitals to raise their standards to those commonplace elsewhere."

Both of the products are widely used throughout Europe, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region, and the AIM traded company said sales of chlorine dioxide foam and wipe products for medical device disinfection came in at £8.6m for the six-month period ending 31 December, representing an increase of 23% on the corresponding period in the previous year.

"In South Korea our chlorine dioxide technology has had to achieve approval as a new drug and the process has taken over four years. Our distributor is optimistic for the future long-term prospects of our technology in the South Korean hospital market," said Swinney.

Tristel's shares were up 3.68% at 285.11p at 1647 BST.