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VANCOUVER - Ondine Biomedical Inc. announced Monday that its Steriwave photodisinfection technology has demonstrated 99.9% effectiveness against Candidozyma auris (C. auris), a drug-resistant fungus that has increased by 67% in European hospitals over the past year.
According to a new report from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), C. auris cases reached 1,346 in 2023, representing a 400% increase from 2020. The fungus presents significant challenges to healthcare systems due to its resistance to most disinfectants and ability to survive on surfaces and medical equipment for extended periods.
The ECDC estimates that a single C. auris outbreak can exceed €1 million in containment and treatment expenses. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has identified C. auris as an urgent threat, with a study showing nearly 60% mortality rate within 90 days of infection.
Ondine will present UK-based infection reduction results at the International Conference on Prevention and Infection Control in Geneva on September 18, 2025. The company previously demonstrated at ICPIC 2019 that its Steriwave technology could eradicate the C. auris fungus in minutes.
"Our light-activated antimicrobial platform has been shown to inactivate a broad spectrum of clinically relevant pathogens, including fungi such as C. auris and Mucor," said Carolyn Cross, CEO of Ondine.
Steriwave is a non-invasive therapy that applies a photosensitive agent to each nostril, which is then illuminated with a specific wavelength of red light to kill pathogens. The technology is currently used in hospitals across Canada and increasingly in the UK’s National Health Service, according to the company’s press release statement.
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