Kinnos Raises $15 Million To Properly Sanitize Hospital Surfaces – AlleyWatch

Careful cleaning and disinfection of surfaces is important for infection prevention to reduce pathogenic microorganisms. Studies have shown that manual surface cleaning and disinfection in healthcare settings has significant potential for improvement due to a number of factors. Kinos developed highlight, a coloring technology mixed with cleaning products, provides healthcare workers with a visual and intuitive confirmation that surfaces have been properly sanitized without the use of specialized equipment. This additive solution can be easily applied to any cleaning product your hospital already uses. Originally founded in 2015 as a response to Ebola in Africa, demand for this new technology surged during the pandemic, prompting the company to expand the technology’s range to include different types of wipes in addition to cleaning fluids. bottom. The World Health Organization recognized Brooklyn-based Kinnos as a breakthrough medical technology for the technology’s ability to reduce the pain, mortality and economic impact of healthcare-associated infections.

alley watch We spoke with the co-founder and chief innovation officer of Kinnos Jason Kang To learn more about the business, the company’s strategic plans, the company’s latest funding round bringing the company’s total funding to $22.8 million, and more…

Who are the investors and how much did you raise?

This latest funding round will be funded by Family Office and pioneer healthcare Partner, Kapor Center, and Partnership Fund for New York CityAlso participating are former industry leaders such as Abbott, Baxalta, Baxter, Bayer, Becton Dickinson, Kantel, Ecolab, Intermountain Healthcare, North Shore University Health System and Walgreens. We deliberately raise funds from individuals, family offices and strategic investors with experience in infection prevention and medical innovation, relying on our investor base to help our team grow our business and highlight our Help establish as care and service. training.

What products or services does Kinnos offer?

Highlight is a mission-critical disinfectant tinting technology that helps prevent the spread of surface-borne pathogens to patients, families and staff. Recognized by the World Health Organization, Highlight temporarily tints the disinfecting wipes and cleaning solutions hospitals already use, providing staff with instant visual cues to improve their work. In a peer-reviewed study published in American Journal of Infection Prevention Last year, Highlight was shown to improve cleaning quality metrics by as much as 70%.

For sanitizing wipes, the highlight blue color is added to the wipes via a unique dispensing device located at the top of the wipe canister. A wipe is ejected when the button is pressed, and blue color is added when the wipe is ejected. The blue color helps to clearly show surface coverage and disappears within minutes.

Our goal is not only to make disinfection more visible and create a safer environment for patients, but also to make the hard work of environmental service workers and frontline staff visible.

What inspired you to start Kinnos?

The idea for Kinnos came from the founding team’s experience battling Ebola in West Africa in 2015. We found that too many areas were overlooked, both in personnel protective clothing, equipment and facilities, where workers could not see the actual disinfectant on the surface. . This has significantly increased infection rates among employees and patients.

We developed Highlight as a coloring technology that can be added to disinfectants, ultimately focusing on the US healthcare system from a global health perspective. Studies show that more than half of contact surfaces in hospitals are not properly cleaned. According to the CDC, healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) affect 1 in 31 patients, kill 72,000 people, and lead to direct costs of billions of dollars each year. Patients can actually make their illness worse by going to the hospital and getting an infection or illness they didn’t originally have.

How are Kinnos different?

Kinnos is the first company to offer technology that improves manual cleaning without changing the products used by hospitals and staff or adding additional steps. There are other infection control innovations that attempt to address the problem of missed spots on surfaces, such as UV lights and misting, but these technologies do not replace manual cleaning and can only be used after manual cleaning is complete. (Workflow would have to be interrupted and additional work added). reduce the workload of already overloaded staff).

In contrast, Highlight uses breakthrough, patented technology to make what you’re already cleaning more effective. This colorization technology enables workers to apply the proper technique in real time, reducing human error while making it visible to these workers, other staff members, and even patients and their families. It gives you peace of mind. Integrating directly into the existing ready-to-use sanitizing wipes that hospitals already use makes it easier for hospitals to rapidly improve quality and compliance to stay on top. Our products empower often-underappreciated hospital environmental services staff to do their jobs with confidence and bring recognition to their work.

What markets does Kinnos target and how big is it?

Kinnos is disrupting the global infection control industry worth over $30 billion. Currently, the company is primarily focused on the healthcare market in the US and Canada, but eventually he expects Highlight to become a core component of daily cleaning around the world.

What is your business model?

Kinnos sells its patented Highlight colorization technology directly to hospitals. For hospitals that use our wipe tint technology, hospitals buy dispensers and resupply cartridges in the same way that consumers buy printers and ink cartridges.

How are you preparing for a potential economic slowdown?

We focus on a core set of goals and control spending based on milestones achieved. Infection prevention and risk mitigation remain paramount, especially as hospitals face increasing economic pressures, increased staff turnover, and the spread of new deadly pathogens from around the world.

What was the fundraising process like? What was the biggest challenge you faced while fundraising?

It was certainly a unique time for fundraising. Institutional investors keep most of their money for follow-up and support of existing portfolio companies, and then appear to be very cautious about making new investments.

What factors about your business made investors write checks?

There were many factors that generated interest and demand among investors. The first is the urgency of the problem.From the novel coronavirus to recent headlines Candida auris With the alarming rise of multidrug-resistant microbes, healthcare industry leaders understand the global challenges we face in combating emerging pathogens. Studies show that healthcare-associated infections can result from pathogens that are picked up from surfaces, which can survive on surfaces for months or even years and then pass on to the patient. Despite hospital cleaning procedures in place, recent reports indicate a 20% increase in nosocomial infections related to surface infections. Kinnos technology helps fill a gap when it comes to reducing the risk of leaving surfaces contaminated.

From a business perspective, this represents a very large addressable market. We also found the growth of our intellectual property portfolio and our traction with hospitals attractive. Today, no other company can easily improve manual sanitization processes in real time.

At the same time, Kinnos has evolved its team to include a number of successful serial entrepreneurs and executives on its leadership team (including adding a new CEO), board of directors, advisory board, and more. Many of our new investors have invested in and worked with some of our new team members. And the historic success of their collective makes investing in this revolutionary technology even more attractive.

What milestones do you plan to achieve in the next six months?

The company will expand its technology platform to include compatibility with hydrogen peroxide-based wipes later this year. This imminent product launch will enable Kinnos to improve the cleaning process across the full range of bleach, quaternary acid, hydrogen peroxide and other disinfecting wipes most commonly used in hospitals today. .

What advice would you give to New York companies that haven’t recapitalized their banks?

Think holistically about what milestones you can realistically achieve before you run out of cash. Get your investors excited by telling a story around your milestone that explains why it’s a big deal. Never give up if you truly believe in your mission. There are others who believe what you believe. All that remains is to find them.

Where do you see the company going in the short term?

Kinnos is now focused on expanding its technology platform within hospitals across North America. Ultimately, we believe our Highlight technology will be widely used in the medical field and beyond, as it will ensure the best possible cleanliness the first time, every time.

What is your favorite restaurant in the city?

Jeju noodle bar (when it was still easy to get reservations!)

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