A light bulb capable of neutralizing Sars-Cov-2. Light as a natural ally to stem coronavirus infections and to protect against future pandemics. More than a challenge, it seems like a goal achieved Biovitae, patent owned by Nextsense, an Italian company based in Salerno. Tested by the military laboratories of the Italian, German and Swedish army, Biovitae is a lamp patented in 2016 with the aim of fighting bacterial infections. “A unique patent in the world”, the president of the company, Mauro Pantaleo, tells Italian Tech.
The company has recently closed an investment round from 2.1 million euros with Azimut and Ulixes Capital. Money that will serve to strengthen the production and marketing phase of the product. Biovitae lamps are produced in Germany, in Eichstatt near Munich, in a former factory of the German lamp manufacturer Osram. “Our model is the sale of licenses. We sell the license to distributors who in turn sell our bulbs in other markets. At the moment we have agreements with Germany, Austria, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, India ”, says Pantaleo. And Italy of course. Where it all started six years ago, before Covid-19. But the pandemic has put investors in the spotlight on the company.
Military laboratory tests
The technology, explains Pantaleo, was developed with the military science department, the Celio Laboratories: “A true Italian excellence”, he explains, “perhaps not too well known but it is in fact the leader of military security networks”. Biovitae, the manager reasons, starts from a principle: i vaccines they have made a fundamental contribution to limiting the serious consequences of the disease and mortality, but if we do not start living in microbiologically healthy and safe environments, the social effects of the pandemic will never end.
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A principle that the news of recent weeks seems to confirm, given the new wave of infections that is pushing up the epidemic curve almost everywhere in Italy. To stem viruses, Pantaleo is sure, we cannot just think about sanitizing environments with chemical agents. “We hurt ourselves, because bacteria are also a fundamental part of our life, and we pollute the planet”. The alternative would be to find a method to carry out what he calls “continuous sanitation”. It continues like the light produced by a light bulb. A particular light, actually.
How the anti Covid light bulb works
“The inventors of this patent, Rosario Valles e Carmelo Shipyard, have created a device that synthesizes the frequencies of the visual spectrum into a frequency peak. A little as if it were the tip of a pyramid, at the base of which there is the whole band from 400 to 420 nanometers ”, explains Pantaleo. Valles is a doctor, Cantiere an engineer who returned from Oxford to Italy to create the company.
Basically, that band of light close to ultraviolet rays, but does not enter the spectrum that is harmful to humans. Yet it is effective enough to rid environments of bacteria, fungi and viruses. Also Sars-Cov-2, the virus that leads to the disease Covid-19. “Three different military departments and La Sapienza University tested it. There is no doubt about its effectiveness. It is certified that our lamps create a healthy environment from a biological point of view, but that it does not damage our immune system, which could not live in a sterile environment ”, adds Pantaleo.
The development of industrial partnerships
Shortly before the pandemic, the Biovitae lamps were installed in the emergency department of Fiumicino airport. Then the crisis slowed down the application plan for these lamps. But it was also an opportunity to test the effectiveness of that technology on viruses.
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Tests passed, the company says. But then why are solutions like those of Biovitae not already applied on a large scale? “I really don’t know,” Pantaleo replies. “But I can say that given the risks of still having to face new pandemics, this could be the light of the future. It can be anywhere. From environments to means of transport. We have closed agreements with various industrial partners and transport companies, such as Fincantieri and various automotive companies. This light not only purifies the air of bacteria and viruses, but also surfaces. It has a potentially infinite application potential ”.
2.1 million in financing to produce the lamps are a first investment, but already quite large compared to the average of what startups that deal with new technologies are able to collect in Italy. That the long-term virus challenge can be won by a light bulb is a fascinating scenario, but hard to imagine at the moment. But one way to be able to live with the virus, with viruses, is an urgency that cannot be ignored.