COVID-19 Nasopharyngeal Swabs Packaged in DuPont™ Tyvek® Highlight Swift Response Through Focused Partnerships

Napoleon Bonaparte famously stated, “War is ninety percent information.” Currently, the global community is fiercely waging war against the common enemy of novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Data is a key weapon in this battle, because it enables better decision making and improved patient outcomes.

With an eye toward this need for raw data about infection rates, numerous companies began developing COVID-19 testing processes early in the pandemic. Applied Medical is one of these companies that is leading the charge in developing medical devices for COVID-19 testing. Packaged in DuPont™ Tyvek® 1073B supplied as a coated material by Tekni-Plex, these new nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs from Applied Medical are now available.

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, the team at Applied Medical recognized the urgent need for nasopharyngeal swabs to address testing shortages. Because Applied Medical is fully vertically integrated with everything from product design to final manufacturing and sterilization in-house, they were able to move quickly from design to development in less than three months.

In support of these efforts, teams from Tekni-Plex and DuPont Safety – Healthcare worked swiftly to prioritize urgently needed Tyvek® 1073B to package these new medical devices. While DuPont expedited supply of Tyvek® 1073B for this application, Tekni-Plex quickly coated and delivered these materials to Applied Medical in a highly expedited lead time. “Tekni-Plex made a strategic decision at the beginning of the outbreak to prioritize the needs of our customers directly involved in the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of the coronavirus,” said Timm Goodmanson, Vice President / General Manager Tekni-Plex Flexible Healthcare Packaging. “We are proud to stand on the front lines of the COVID-19 battle with great partners like Applied Medical and DuPont.”

Applied Medical will distribute NP swabs to healthcare facilities and government agencies. The medical device company has worked with external validation sites to ensure swab performance. “We appreciate the fact that DuPont and Tekni-Plex prioritized our packaging needs to ensure that our NP swabs are readily available for COVID-19 testing,” said Serene Wachli, Group President of Horizon II, Applied Medical. “Through this partnership, we’re able to make a difference in healthcare by delivering much needed products to customers.”

These circumstances again exemplify global collaboration and coordination across the healthcare industry to deliver critical supplies to health care providers and frontline workers battling the COVID-19 pandemic. John Richard, Vice President and General Manager of DuPont Safety, further stated, “We are proud of these efforts and partnerships, and our dedicated team at DuPont will continue to strive every day to deliver the urgently needed supplies of Tyvek® Medical & Pharmaceutical Packaging to the COVID-19 response.”

References

[1] https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/lab/guidelines-clinical-specimens.html

This information is based on technical data DuPont believes to be reliable. It is subject to revision as additional knowledge and experience are gained. It is not intended as a substitute for any testing you may conduct to determine for yourself the suitability of our products for your particular purpose. Since conditions of use are outside the Company’s control, DuPont makes no warranties, express or implied, and assumes no liability in connection with any use of this information. DuPont™, the DuPont Oval Logo, and all trademarks and service marks denoted with TM, SM or ® are owned by affiliates of DuPont de Nemours, Inc. unless otherwise noted. © 2020 DuPont. (04/20)