Remote Monitored Systems plc (LON:RMS) has announced that further to the announcement on 30t December 2020, the Board has appointed Alex Vergopoulos as an Executive Director of the Company.
Appointment of Alex Vergopoulos
Alex has a wealth of experience in the print and manufacturing industry and has worked closely with one of Pharm 2 Farm Ltd’s (“P2F”) production partners, who are using their proprietary technology to apply P2F’s copper nano particles onto the breathable fabric that makes up the α-virion, or viricidal, layer. Alex’s initial responsibility will be to oversee the production and sales of the P2F viricidal surgical masks.
Update on mask production
The mask manufacturing machine arrived from Lemu, as expected, and has been installed in a clean room in Nottingham’s BioCity. Work begins this week to commission the machine and commence production.
The last element prior to full scale production of the Company’s 4-ply mask is the certification of the mask to EN14683 standard (Type IIR). The mask has now passed four of the five required tests, as follows:
Bacterial Filtration Efficiency (BFE): this tests the filtration capacity of the mask. The P2F product achieved a 98.77% result; higher than the 98% required.
Differential Pressure: this tests the breathability of the mask with this test having been previously passed as advised on 15 December 2020. The maximum limit to obtain Type IIR is <60pa/cm2. The P2F mask achieved 46.4pa/cm2 which provides a good balance of breathability and BFE.
Splash resistance: this tests the resistance of the mask to penetration by blood fluid at 16kPa. This test is only required for Type IIR (differentiating it from Type II) as this type of mask can be used in a surgical setting. The key to passing the test is to have a hydrophobic outer layer on the mask. 100% of the masks in the P2F sample passed this test compared to the minimum 90% pass rate requirement.
Microbiological cleanliness: this measures the quantity of microorganisms on the mask, effectively, checking the cleanliness of the manufacturing environment. The P2F masks passed, coming in below the maximum permitted measure of 30 cfu/g (Note: CFU is a microbiological measure for the number of viable cells in a sample).
The last test is the biocompatibility test, which tests the reaction to human skin – cytotoxicity, irritation and sensitization. This test has been delayed and is now expected to be completed in the next week.
Assuming that commissioning proceeds as expected, the Company is working towards producing between 0.3m and 0.5m masks before the end of January; before scaling up production to commercial levels in February and March. Discussions are also continuing with Volz Group, which needs to conclude its own certification process, for it to manufacture both a surgical mask and FFP2 masks, although production is not expected to commence much before the end of the first quarter.
Whilst the move to production is a positive step; the success of the operation will be demonstrated through securing sales orders for the Company’s products. Whilst interest remains strong, no firm orders have been received as yet with achieving certification an important step for potential customers.
