TGA defies US ban on ‘miracle’ disinfectant

A Covid-fighting disinfectant that lasts more than 15 weeks has achieved TGA approval in Australia despite a ban being slapped on it in the US this month.

The Covid-fighting disinfectant SurfaceWise2 is advertised to last more than 15 weeks. Picture: NCA Newswire /Gaye Gerard

A miracle, Covid-fighting disinfectant that lasts more than 15 weeks has achieved TGA approval in Australia despite a ban being slapped on it in the US this month.

SurfaceWise2, made by Allied BioScience, says it is the only product of its kind to be verified by a regulatory body to reduce germs by up to 98.5 per cent over 15 weeks. That includes Covid-19.

“The Therapeutic Goods Administration has listed SurfaceWise2 as a hospital-grade disinfectant effective against germs, bacteria and Covid-19,” Australian distributor Allied BioServices says in a statement.

The revised TGA listing mentions 98.5 per cent protection over 15 weeks. The TGA is the body that approves the drugs we take.

Allied BioServices in a statement said the outcome was achieved through three-month pilots into the Australian healthcare and public transport sectors, and extensive independent lab testing. A spokesperson said this 15 weeks intended purpose clause had only now been added by the TGA, even though the original TGA approval was in 2020.

However, in the US, SurfaceWise2’s mandate for use was revoked by the US Environmental Protection Agency in early July.

The US EPA issued a “stop sale, use or removal order” to Allied BioScience following its authorisation for emergency use in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas to address the pandemic.

“Specific use sites included American Airlines aircraft and airport facilities and two orthopaedic facilities in Texas,” says The National Law Review.

According to a report, the EPA says the company was marketing, selling, and distributing SurfaceWise2 in ways inconsistent with the US Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act.

“Additionally, EPA … is revoking SurfaceWise2 emergency exemptions for Arkansas and Texas based on the FIFRA violations that EPA is alleging and scientific concerns regarding product performance,” says the report.

“According to EPA, since January, new data became available that led EPA to review comprehensively new and existing information regarding product efficacy … laboratory testing indicates the product’s performance is less reliable under real-world conditions than, presumably, data that EPA previously reviewed may have indicated to EPA, particularly when it is exposed to moisture or abrasion.”

The National Law Review article was dated July 8.

An Allied BioServices spokesperson said there had been conflicting state-based decisions about SurfaceWise2 in the US and “politicking” about approvals. The company said the Australian and US approvals referenced two different standards.

“The TGA does not utilise the EPA testing criteria,” it argued. “Instead their testing consultation paper has aligned to an established British Testing Standard (PAS 2424:2014).”