AP-4 system developed by Altapure kills 100% of all pathogens on exposed surfaces

HARTLAND, WI (April 21, 2020) – Altapure, LLC, a company with manufacturing and research and development operations in Mequon, Wisconsin, north of Milwaukee, is applying ultrasonic technology commonly used to disinfect and sanitize healthcare environments to aid in the fight of COVID-19. The company’s AP-4 Medical HLD System is now being used to eliminate pathogens on N95 respirator masks, a Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) that is facing national shortages due to high demand, to allow for the safe and rapid reuse of the product. Altapure is located at 6040 West Executive Drive in Mequon Research Center I, a business community developed and managed by St. John Properties, Inc.

Altapure, a 10-person company founded in 2003 by Jonathan Ricciardi and Carl L. Ricciardi, developed a PAA/ultrasonic based technology for the AP-4 Medical HLD System; the PAA agent has been approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to 100% eradicate spores, viruses and bacteria on exposed surfaces. The company has also developed a cabinet-sized version of the AP-4 device utilizing the same technology that can disinfect materials within a 10 cubic foot space. This product is pending approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

“As we have watched the global COVID-19 crisis unfold, Altapure has accelerated its efforts to demonstrate the effectiveness of our technology to cost-efficiently disinfect and decontaminate N95 masks,” explained Carl Ricciardi, President of Altapure. “Healthcare professionals engaged in battling the coronavirus are being placed in harm’s way on a daily basis by using respirator masks that were improperly sterilized. We have presented a solution to this dangerous situation by using a safe system that breaks down to water vapor and vinegar odor and believe it will make a profound and meaningful difference to health care professionals.”

Physicians associated with the Cleveland VA and Case Western Reserve University Hospital have conducted a series of experiments testing different disinfection systems for PPE and “have had very good preliminary results using the AP-4 Medical HLD System,” according to a letter from Dr. Shine Raju and Dr. Amrita John. The medical center is “actively running more experiments” but found that the N95 masks “retained filtration efficiency of 97.7%” and found “no visible evidence that the N95s are adversely affected by the treatment.”

According to Ricciardi, independent testing was performed using various technologies including heat and UV light to determine the most effective solution to disinfect PPE; the system developed by Altapure was selected as the method with the highest efficacy. Surfaces treated by the AP-4 have been clinically proven to show no growth for bacterial spores, vegetative bacteria and viruses.

The COVID-19 crisis has quickly depleted the national supply of N95 masks, and healthcare professionals have been searching for a solution to effectively clean the PPE to allow for safe and rapid reuse. “Research has shown that AP-4 provides a viable solution to this situation, and we are anxious to distribute the technology to healthcare environments where it can make a meaningful difference,” Ricciardi added.

6040 West Executive Drive is a single-story, flex/R&D building containing 30,300 square feet of space. It is part of the four-building Mequon Research Center I business community comprised of approximately 121,000 square feet of space. Located at the intersection of Industrial Drive and West Executive Drive, the park is located approximately 15 miles north of Milwaukee.

“Carl Ricciardi has assembled an impressive professional team at Altapure, and the company has built a strong customer following of medical institutions” explained Greg Fax, Regional Partner, Wisconsin for St. John Properties. “Altapure has reacted extremely quickly to the national need for N95 masks and we intend to support their on-going efforts to expand the reach of its technology and products.”

St. John Properties, Inc., founded in 1971, owns and has developed more than 20 million square feet of Flex/R&D, Office, Retail and Warehouse space in Maryland, Colorado, Louisiana, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Utah and Wisconsin. The company was named “2018 Developer of the Year” for the Nation by NAIOP, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association. For more information about the company, visit sjp.mu9b0uf9-liquidwebsites.com.