• iMFLUX, a subsidiary of P&G, developed a novel fully injection-molded polypropylene nasal swab under the company?s efforts to positively impact COVID-19 testing availability
• Rhinostics is bringing innovation to improve sample collection while removing costs and time from COVID testing workflow with automated consumables

Rhinostics Standard Nasal Swab is a polypropylene collection device developed in partnership with P&G for COVID-19 testing. The novel swab allows for easy collection from the front of the nose and provides sample concentration of up to 30 fold over other swabs in viral transport media. Procter & Gamble (P&G) is licensing its novel nasal swab to Rhinostics to launch and bring to the clinical laboratory market. P&G developed the swab as part of its commitment to help communities address supply shortages and to bring creative solutions to bear on the challenges facing laboratories and supply chains during the COVID-19 pandemic. The project was a collaboration between resources from P&G?s Personal Health Care business and iMFLUX, a subsidiary focused on mold design and process technology innovation for the plastics injection molding market. Swabs continue to be in short supply and are critical to fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. The companies believe the nasal swab?s unique features make it a better material choice for both PCR and antigen-based assays. These swabs reduce handling and lab processing cycle time and increase lab capacity as new home collection kits expand rapidly into the virus detection market. We are proud to see the P&G developed nasal swab come to market through Rhinostics efforts. When we began this program, our intention was simply to help relieve bottlenecks in COVID-19 swab supply and bring a novel collection device to bear on the problem,? said Mary Wagner, SVP at P&G and CEO of iMFLUX. Rhinostics plans on registering the P&G polypropylene nasal swab as a Class I Exempt medical device and will pursue Emergency Use Authorization for home collection with rPT-PCR testing, the gold standard for detection of SARS-CoV-2 infection. This licensing agreement has the potential to provide relief to the constrained market, expedite test results and be a solution for future testing needs, like influenza. ?P&G and iMFLUX have been vital partners in helping Rhinostics launch the manufacturing of its nasal swab collection products. We believe there is a significant opportunity to bring new collection devices like the P&G nasal swab to clinical laboratory workflow. Not only does the nasal 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, ?We look forward to continuing to work with the iMFLUX team to develop molds across our product lines.? About P&G: P&G serves consumers around the world with one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Always?, Ambi Pur?, Ariel?, Bounty?, Charmin?, Crest?, Dawn?, Downy?, Fairy?, Febreze?, Gain?, Gillette?, Head & Shoulders?, Lenor?, Olay?, Oral-B?, Pampers?, Pantene?, SK-II?, Tide?, Vicks?, and Whisper?. The P&G community includes operations in approximately 70 countries worldwide. Please visit?http://www.pg.com?for the latest news and information about P&G and its brands. For other P&G news, visit us at?www.pg.com/news. About iMFLUX: iMFLUX is a team of innovators, operating globally to transform the future of plastic injection molding. Join us on our journey to autonomous molding??and learn how we provide meaningful sustainability solutions. Please visit?www.imflux.com?for more information about iMFLUX, our patented game-changing processing software, and our mold design and innovation center. 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.