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| Pulsed Zenon UV Disinfection device--Courtesy of Xenex |
Hospitals face decreased reimbursement from some U.S. payers based on rates of healthcare-associated infection (HAIs). That means institutions must take more aggressive pathogen reduction seriously. Some investors are betting that an ultraviolet disinfecting robot from startup Xenex Disinfection Services could be a contender in that market, funding the company with $25 million so it can expand U.S. and international sales and advance product development.
The company markets the Xenex Germ-Zapping Robot, which has been shown in studies to reduce rates of infection with Clostridium difficile (C. diff), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and multidrug-resistant organisms.
In data released earlier this month, the pulsed xenon ultraviolet disinfection device was used in two acute-care hospitals. Researchers found that 10 minutes of exposure from four feet away reduced the subsequent number of recovered Clostridium difficile spores, MRSA, and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus by 0.55 ± 0.34, 1.85 ± 0.49, and 0.6 ± 0.25 log10 colony-forming units/cm2, respectively.
"The company's unique technology can address important and immediate patient and healthcare worker needs due to urgent worldwide disease outbreaks," Kelly Martin, co-founder Xenex investor Brandon Point, said in a statement. "Through our collective and multi-faceted industry experiences housed within Brandon Point, we look forward to providing relevant guidance and assistance to Xenex's management team."
The technology uses the inert gas xenon to create ultraviolet light. The intense, broad-spectrum light penetrates the cell walls of pathogens, causing its DNA to fuse and rendering it unable to reproduce or mutate, according to the company.
The Xenex robot is already used at more than 250 hospitals, Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense facilities in the U.S. but it's aiming for many more. The company notes that 724 U.S. hospitals were recently fined for causing infections as a result of value based purchasing decisions by payers.
Hospitals are not reimbursed for patient readmissions due to an HAI and the average per patient cost of an infection is $15,000, the company said. It added that "many" of its customers have reported a 50-to-1 return on investment from using the Xenex robot.
Xenex was founded in 2008 and launched its robot in 2010. The startup spent its first few years in the Houston Technology Center, the largest technology business incubator in Texas. Investors in the latest financing are new investor Brandon Point Industries, which participated alongside existing investors including Battery Ventures, Targeted Technology Fund II and RK Ventures.
- here is the release