[Into the Stocks] 222nm UVC Lamp, Will It Become a 'Game Changer' for COVID-19?

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[Asia Economy Reporter Ji Yeon-jin] Will far-ultraviolet C (far-UVC) lamps become a 'game changer' for COVID-19? Nano CMS, a developer of nano new materials for security printing that entered the KOSDAQ market last March, is attracting investors' attention. This follows news that a domestic research team published a paper in an international journal reporting that the company's 'far-ultraviolet UVC 222nm (nanometer) lamp (Safe222 Models of 222nm UVC lamps)' eliminated the COVID-19 virus indoors.

◆ Lamp for eradicating COVID-19 hits upper price limit = On the 4th, the Korea Exchange announced a short-term overheating designation (three trading days of single-price trading) for Nano CMS. This came after the company’s stock closed at the upper price limit following news that Nano CMS had developed the world’s first lamp capable of eradicating the COVID-19 virus indoors.

Through its website, Nano CMS introduced its far-ultraviolet lamp as a 'game changer for COVID-19 virus eradication,' stating that the far-ultraviolet 222nm lamp significantly reduces pathogens like COVID-19 indoors. According to the company, a domestic research team’s experimental results on the COVID-19 eradication effect of the 222nm lamp developed by Nano CMS were published in the international journal Clinical Laboratory. The research team exposed gauze cultured with a high concentration (initial concentration 4.5 log10TCID50/ml) of COVID-19 virus to 222nm lamp light at a fixed distance. The results showed that from 30 seconds of exposure, 99.9% of the virus was eliminated, and complete eradication was achieved from 60 seconds onward.

Nano CMS developed materials capable of producing the 222nm wavelength last year through about 10 years of nano-based chemical structure design. In collaboration with the U.S. technology company Eden Park Illumination, they developed indoor-use bulbs, downlights, and bar-shaped lamps with 222nm wavelength using micro plasma technology. The lamps are said to be usable for about one year based on 8 hours of daily use. They can be utilized in indoor crowded places such as stores, offices, schools, medical institutions, military facilities, and theaters. A Nano CMS official said, "The experiment was successful last year, and the paper was published in an international journal this time," adding, "We plan to apply for a patent for this technology and are ready to produce lamps if orders come in."

Nano CMS is a company engaged in developing taggant materials (substances used to prevent counterfeiting) for security inks applied to security printing such as banknotes, passports, driver’s licenses, and National ID cards through nano-based chemical structure design and wavelength selectivity material development technology. Last year, the company recorded sales of 4.2 billion KRW and an operating loss of 200 million KRW, and it was listed on the KOSDAQ market in March under the technology growth special case. Sales in the first quarter of this year reached 2 billion KRW, an 82% increase compared to the same period last year, and operating profit rose 560% to 500 million KRW during this period. On the 7th of last month, it signed a product supply contract worth 800 million KRW with the Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation. The stock price rose to 36,000 KRW on the listing day, March 9, but afterward, it fluctuated below the public offering price (20,000 KRW), surged sharply after signing the contract with the Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation on the 7th of last month, and then plunged, showing high volatility. As of 10:18 a.m. on that day, the stock price was down about 0.99% compared to the previous day.

◆ Harmless 222nm ultraviolet, ongoing research on COVID-19 removal effects = Research on COVID-19 virus removal using UVC has been ongoing since last year. A research team led by Professor David Brenner of Columbia University Medical Center in the U.S. published in June last year in the international journal Scientific Reports that seasonal coronaviruses in aerosols can be killed 99.9% by ultraviolet light. The study noted that while UVC around 254nm used in hygiene sterilization products is harmful to humans and thus banned for human use by global health authorities, the 222nm wavelength cannot penetrate the tear film of the eye or the skin’s stratum corneum, so it does not damage skin or eyes while confirming the eradication effect on the coronavirus.

The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) reported in its overseas market report published in March this year that cases of introducing far-ultraviolet sterilization devices are increasing, especially in Japan. In particular, Ushio Electric’s 'Far-UVC irradiation device Care222,' released in September last year, uses ultraviolet light at a wavelength of 222nm and has attracted attention for its safety by independently developing special light sources and optical filters to avoid affecting the human body. However, since the product’s release in Japan, daily new confirmed cases have continuously exceeded 1,000 since November last year, and the recent 7-day average daily confirmed cases have reached 10,000.

Domestically, Seoul Viosys, a KOSDAQ-listed company, saw its stock price fluctuate sharply after announcing in January this year that the ultraviolet (UV) light-emitting diode (LED) technology’s COVID-19 sterilization effect was proven. RF Semi also recorded an intraday upper price limit on the 2nd after news spread that it developed far-ultraviolet (Far UVC Light) lighting that kills viruses but is harmless to humans.

An infectious disease professor who requested anonymity dismissed the matter as "something former President Donald Trump claimed last year." Indeed, former President Trump caused controversy early in the COVID-19 outbreak last year by suggesting "considering exposing the body to ultraviolet light or injecting disinfectants" as a treatment method. Professor Choi Jae-wook of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Korea University said, "The research results alone cannot be trusted, and it is necessary to check whether approval for use has been obtained from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety," adding, "Research can be handled in many ways, but laboratory conditions and actual usage environments may differ, so sterilization effects and others must be proven through experiments in real environments."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.