Letter from the CEO – April 2, 2020
Thank you again for all your tremendous support! It has been quite the ride since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. We hope you and your families have fared as well as can be expected. As the world’s leading supplier of Krypton™ 222nm lighting products, Far UV Technologies has been hard at work trying to help end the pandemic and reopen the economy and, in many ways, we are just getting started. We have largely been head down focusing on the many things we need to fulfill our many customer’s needs and are now looking forward to sharing some of those efforts with you.
We are committed to being your trusted partner. To deliver on this promise, we have secured the one of the most comprehensive research, development, and production facilities, experienced team, strategic partners, and products to ensure optimal safe disinfection for you, your families, your colleagues, and your customers.
- We often receive questions about the safety of Krypton Far UV particularly since UV from sunlight (UV-B) and the conventional germicidal ultraviolet light (254nm wavelength UV-C) that most people know about can be an exposure risk for humans and animals with extended use. Our Krypton Far UV lighting predominantly produces operative light at a wavelength different from UV-B and UV-C and that 222nm wavelength does not pose an exposure risk for humans or animals when properly designed, engineered and applied. Krypton Far UV disinfection* lighting is not a medical device and is not for treating people. Our Krypton Far UV products treat the air and surface environments people encounter. 222nm far uv light can’t penetrate much of anything, including the outermost dead human skin layer known as the stratum corneum. We have provided several independent studies from leading academic and research institutions that confirm the safety aspects in the links on the frequently asked questions section on our website. That said, we are working hard to provide additional data and analysis and brought in Dr. Robert Honigberg to independently evaluate the technology from a medical/surgeon’s perspective and that of a previous Chief Medical Officer at GE Healthcare and Johnson & Johnson. He shares the same passion we have had since 2016 to raise awareness about this incredible platform to help rid the world of the dangerous pathogens that are typically associated with infectious disease.
- Our customers want to know we have the know-how and experience to calculate exactly how much Far UV can be used at any distance or angle and on whatever surface to maximize pathogen inactivation in both air and on surfaces while still staying within the safety limits. We’ve always considered safety first and believe that there are many ways we can increase the odds of safety in our favor. Catching COVID-19 is not based on fate. The protections you choose to implement matter. Data and science matters. We not only have world-class lab facilities that include every meter we know of to measure 222nm but we have actually completed the microbiological testing ourselves, work closely with the leading component suppliers, hired some of them from Ushio (Michael Clark), brought back Dr. Budhraja, who worked with us on our NASA project and previously ran optoelectronic and materials projects at Sandia National Labs and the National Renewable Energy Labs to run our test labs and are closely collaborating with Dr. Brenner from the Columbia University Medical Center as well as the other leading subject matter experts in the industry.
- We are committed to facilitate and expedite the rapid adoption of Krypton disinfection* lighting through superior customer service. We know that our customers often have questions about the technology and application and we are more than happy to answer any questions they might have. We answer the phone and we tell the truth. We’ve recently added a team to help manage our growing installation, maintenance, and service capability. We ensure your Krypton Far UV project is successfully installed and we stand by it.
- We are committed to innovation and to bring new levels of pathogen inactivation capability to fight not only the current pandemic but also protect us from other existing and future biological threats from tother pathogens typically associated with the common cold or flu to foodborne and other more challenging hospital-acquired infections. We have recently released the Krypton-36, the highest Far UV ceiling light in the market that can safely and effectively inactivate pathogens from ceilings up to 36 feet (11 meters) high. We are also humbled that Boeing, one of the other pioneers in the Far UV market, has chosen to license their Intellectual Property portfolio to us to expedite the development, production, and delivery of superior handheld wand solutions for airplane cockpit cleaning and beyond. We’re happy to do our part to accelerate the return to air travel both throughout the terminals and on the planes.
- As a recipient of multiple Phase III SBIR contracts, the company has been granted unique Federal designation under the SBIR Reauthorization Act and the SBA SBIR/STTR Policy Directive as the preferred supplier for all Government entities and sponsored programs with sole sourcing available to minimize contracting delays https://www.sbir.gov/tutorials/data-rights/tutorial-4. This has led to several Krypton disinfection* lighting installations across the country and many more in the queue.
We look forward to sharing more news as we continue to implement safer environments for our servicemembers, healthcare facilities, first responders, buses, marine applications, schools, elevators, hospitality customers, and many others. It is exciting to wake up every day knowing that we can make a profound difference and having the privilege to work with such an amazing team, partners, and customers. We welcome and encourage you to join us and we look forward to working with you!
Many thanks again and best regards,
PJ Piper
President & CEO
Far UV Technologies, Inc.