B.C. company produces medical grade N95 equivalent respirators for frontline workers on Canadian soil
Vitacore partnered with McMaster University to develop this Canadian N95 equivalent respirator with testing completed by the National Research Council of Canada. Notably, its single-use fold CAN95 respirators have tested at a higher average particle filtration efficiency than the N95 standard.
Vitacore is also the first company in Canada with an integrated facility producing raw materials and finished products and is equipped to supply its CAN95 respirators on demand at an output of 1.2M units per month directly to the healthcare industry, with plans to scale up to 10M units per month.
“We are proud to be the first and only Canadian company authorized by Health Canada to produce our CAN95 respirators,” said Mikhail Moore, president, Vitacore. “When COVID-19 hit, we saw the need to ensure that our communities, particularly frontline workers, have a consistent high-quality supply of PPE throughout the pandemic and beyond. Our mission and commitment is to homegrown innovation that protects Canadians, allows our country to be self-sustaining, and creates local jobs.”
Researchers at McMaster's Centre of Excellence in Protective Equipment Materials (CEPEM) provided expertise to develop the fabric, determine the best machines for production and test the efficacy of the mask's filtration. Additional testing was conducted using scanning electron microscopes at the Canadian Centre for Electron Microscopy (CCEM) at McMaster University.
“At McMaster's Centre of Excellence in Protective Equipment and Materials, we are dedicated to helping Canadian companies to advance PPE products, both to meet immediate needs and to develop the next generation of cutting-edge products,” said Ravi Selvaganapathy, CEPEM's director and the Canada Research Chair in Biomicrofluidics. “The CAN95 respirator is one story of success. We look forward to partnering with more innovative companies like Vitacore to establish Canada as a global leader in PPE research, development and manufacturing.”
