October 20, 2003

Efficacy of Novaron Antimicrobial Agent Against SARS

The Novaron, silver-based inorganic antimicrobial agent, which Toagosei Co., Ltd. has been previously manufacturing and marketing, is found out to be effective in inhibiting the growth of the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) virus. The efficacy of Novaron has recently been confirmed by Virus Research Institute of the Chinese Government, the global authority in the field of SARS research (patent pending).

The silver-based inorganic antimicrobial agent, Novaron (active ingredient: zirconium silver phosphate) has been recognized as demonstrating superior antimicrobial performance as well as a high degree of safety, including having been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and is employed in numerous antimicrobial processed products both in Japan and overseas.

In addition, since it has also been verified to demonstrate deactivating effects against HIV virus, the potential for its effectiveness against SARS was also considered. When a request to assess its efficacy was made to the Virus Research Institute of the Chinese Government (Beijing), the global authority in the field of SARS research, a report was recently obtained indicating that Novaron has an inhibitory effect on the growth of human coronavirus, the cause of the onset of SARS.

According to the findings of this research institute, when a culturing test was conducted on VERO E6 cells using two types of coronavirus obtained from case of SARS which recently broke out in China, Novaron was found to exhibit deactivating effects on both viral strains.

More specifically, results were obtained which demonstrated that the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) in the case of allowing Novaron to come in contact with the virus for 4 hours was 23.4 mg/ml (patent pending).

On the basis of this result, Toagosei will propose the sterilization of various types of products consisting primarily of health care, food and housing-related products using Novaron for prevention of infection by SARS, for which there is the risk of an additional outbreak this fall and winter, and together with promoting its sales, intends to play an important role in preventing its recurrence.