Equipped with new patents granted from the U.S. government, a Detroit company seeks to bolster its efforts around commercializing ultraviolet light technology as a way of disinfecting surfaces of germs.
Freestyle Partners LLC, founded nearly a decade ago by Jennifer Rosen and Ben Feeney, both consumer advertising and marketing executives, is in discussions about bringing its so-called BeamClean product — which somewhat resembles an older flip phone — to market.
"At this stage in time, it becomes kind of a speed-to-market exercise," Rosen said in an interview with Crain's. "And we're looking for ... kind of the fastest (route). This (product) is something that frankly, we believe really could have made a difference with the pandemic 18 months ago. It could make a difference in upcoming pandemics, and everyone is hyper aware of everyday pathogens at this point in time."
Much of the company's technology is based around research done by Dr. David Brenner with Columbia University. Brenner's research has found that filtered UV light is far safer for human contact.
"Conventional germicidal UVC light (254 nm wavelength) can be used to disinfect unoccupied spaces such as empty hospital rooms or empty subway cars, but direct exposure to these conventional UV lamps is not possible in occupied public spaces, as this could be a health hazard," according to Brenner's research.
The technology used in the Freestyle hand-held device was originally envisioned as being used in an overhead method and was licensed to a Japanese lighting company called Ushio Inc. In order to move ahead with its product, the Freestyle executives also had to establish a development and commercialization agreement with Ushio, which they did about four years ago, according to Rosen.
The patent protections, recently awarded to the company by the U.S. government, goes a long way toward protecting the "valuable assets" of Freestyle Partners and increasing the value of the company, said Greg DeGrazia, an intellectual property attorney in the Detroit office of Miller Canfield Paddock & Stone PLC, who works with Freestyle.
"I think that (with the patents) we can control the market a bit more than we could have otherwise," DeGrazia said. "The early patents are directed toward the functionality of the device that makes it operable. So we intend on expanding that."
Executives at the company declined to discuss any revenue projections at this time.
Also working with the company in an advisory capacity is Don Stebbins, a longtime automotive executive who's held C-suite roles at tier one suppliers such as Superior Industries, Visteon Corp. and Lear Corp.
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic with concerns about germs on surfaces and in the air, several companies have rolled out UV light technology as a way of killing those germs.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says: "It is possible for people to be infected through contact with contaminated surfaces or objects (fomites), but the risk is generally considered to be low," and adds: "There have been few reports of COVID-19 cases potentially attributed to fomite transmission."
Asked by Crain's to what extent the pandemic trend of relying on UV light is something of theatrics, Freestyle's Feeney said the product is intended more to be part of a broader approach to fighting against pathogens, which includes the coronavirus.
"So I don't think it's a one size fits fits all," Feeney said. "And so you've got ... a hand-held device making sure my (computer) mouse is clean. It's that plus hand washing plus this that and the other thing put together. So I think our take is that the system's approach is the way of the future."
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June 19, 2021 at 02:14AM
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Detroit firm Freestyle Partners secures patents for UV light disinfecting device - Crain's Detroit Business
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