Rhinostics Exclusively Licenses Innovative Product Brands’ GrooveSwab™, a Novel Nasopharyngeal Swab Designed to Improve Assay Results for COVID-19 and Respiratory Pathogen Testing

• Innovative Product Brands, Inc. (IPB), developed a novel polypropylene nasopharyngeal swab under the company’s efforts to positively impact COVID-19 testing availability.
• Rhinostics is focused on innovating and improving sample collection, bringing new materials and technologies that improve assay performance while removing costs and time from COVID and other pathogen testing workflows with automated consumables.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Rhinostics announced that it has exclusively licensed a novel nasopharyngeal swab from Innovative Product Brands, Inc. (IPB) to bring to the clinical laboratory market. The GrooveSwab™ is based on a novel swab design developed at the Wyss Institute at Harvard University that employs injection molding and an efficient and comfortable collection for better sample collection and ease of manufacturing. IPB developed the swab to bring creative solutions to bear on the challenges facing laboratories and supply chains during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are excited to license our GrooveSwab™ nasopharyngeal swab to Rhinostics to take to market. When we began this program working with thought leaders in swab design, our intention was to help relieve bottlenecks in COVID-19 testing and bring a novel collection device to bear on the problem. Rhinostics is well-positioned to add the GrooveSwab™ to its growing portfolio of nasal collection products for the clinical laboratory market for COVID and other respiratory pathogen testing,” said Shane Nielson, Chief Executive Officer at IPB.

The companies believe the GrooveSwab™ nasopharyngeal swab has unique properties that make it a better material choice for both PCR and antigen-based assays versus currently available flocked swabs. In addition, rapid manufacturing processes will help alleviate the supply chain issues around nasal swab collection devices.

“During the COVID pandemic, IPB rapidly prototyped and developed a better nasopharyngeal swab, bringing new technologies developed in partnership with our founders to reality. We are excited to add the GrooveSwab™ to our portfolio of novel sample collection products, which are designed to help laboratories refresh and rethink sample collection to help them get the best performance and efficiencies out of their assay workflows. Not only does the nasopharyngeal swab production help to relieve supply chain bottlenecks, the new design and polypropylene materials allows for comfortable collection and sample concentration due to dry shipment and improved release of viral particles. We are excited to bring this innovation to the clinical laboratory market,” says Cheri Walker, Chief Executive Officer of Rhinostics.

About IPB:

Innovative Product Brands, Inc. (IPB) is a medical device manufacturer with an over 20 year history of bringing innovative products to market with a variety of partners in the medical, dental and cosmetic industries. With its ISO 13485 designation as well as several FDA registrations, IPB specializes in the design and manufacture of regulated devices that reduce costs and make healthcare more affordable. Additionally, IPB holds numerous patents on novel technologies such as its DentMix® and EZ Dose™ delivery systems. To learn more about IPB, please visit www.ipbinc.com.

About Rhinostics:

Rhinostics Inc. commercializes simple and elegant solutions to bring efficiencies and cost savings to the laboratory workflow. The RHINOstic nasal swab provides features that increase sample throughput by more than 10-fold while removing labor and errors from the laboratory workflow. The swab is integrated onto a cap that can be automated for removal from the tube while all 96 samples are simultaneously accessioned through scanning a 2D barcode on the bottom of the tubes. The product provides an immediate impact to increasing COVID testing efficiencies while being applicable to broader respiratory viral, bacterial, and genetic testing using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and next generation sequencing (NGS). The RHINOstic product is registered as Class I exempt medical device with the FDA and is available for purchase. To learn more, visit https://www.rhinostics.com.