Vendor has high hopes for virus protection

Taken from Quad City Times, Business Journal

Doug Schorpp | Posted: Sunday, August 30, 2009 3:30 am | MUSCATINE, Iowa

This is a busy time of year for David Reusswig. He is president and chief executive officer of Northern Filter Media Inc., a Muscatine company that manufactures products for water purification filtration, potable water treatment, waste water treatment, gravel pack or swimming pool/pond filter media.

However, Reusswig is among several owners of a separate company called Prefense LLC that has developed a product called Prefenz Botanicals Hand Sanitizer, a spray-on product that provides all-day protection against bacteria, viruses and fungi for up to 24 hours without reapplication.

Reusswig said he has heard that the Obama administration has predicted that as many as

50 percent of U.S. citizens could be infected with the H1N1 virus this fall and winter with up to 90,000 deaths possible.

That is where he believes his product will be useful. He said the active ingredient is amosilq silica complex, which adheres to the skin. Once dry, the antibacterial and antiviral barrier remains effective through 10 hand washings.

“It bonds to the skin, like an invisible glove,” he said. “Other similar products tend to dry your skin because they are 62 percent alcohol, and it evaporates. Our product moisturizes,” Reusswig said.

The product kills all strains of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), streptococcus and E. coli. Prefenz ruptures the cell walls of pathogens and destroys the cell’s opportunity to mutate and come back later as a new, super strain, he said.

Rapid foam application is simple. Reusswig said it is completely safe for use by children and will not stain skin or clothing. Regular application provides continual protection. It comes in an 8-ounce bottle that provides up to 640 sprays, or a 1.5-ounce that provides 120 sprays, Reusswig said.

He said it has been years in the making, including testing and developing and has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

The product was invented and patented by Dr. William Peterson, another Prefenz founder and president of Coating Systems Laboratories Inc. of Chandler, Ariz. Reusswig said he connected with Peterson in 2002 and eventually formed a business relationship with Coating Systems Laboratories to develop, patent and distribute antimicrobial filter media.

The suggested retail price is $6.99 and, for the most part, only can be purchased through its Web site. The company currently is negotiating to have the product sold in retail outlets, including some of the big box stores, grocery outlets and other stores.

“We just did a trade show a couple of weeks ago, and the distributor said that in his 30-year history, this is probably biggest product introduction he has ever done,” Reusswig said. “He was signing up thousand of customers.

“Our timing is probably pretty good, with all the hype and concerns about the swine flu. The swine flu is not going to reach a serious situation until it gets really cold. That gives our distributors a chance to complete negotiations to get the product on the market. Hopefully, by late October, there will be plenty of opportunity to buy Prefenz in area stores.”

He said the company also recently participated in an international H1N1 flu conference in Washington, D.C., and their booth saw a lot of traffic from both public and health-care providers.

Currently, the product is produced, packaged and shipped from a facility in the Chicago suburbs. But in the future, he hopes to move those operations to Muscatine.