Richmont obtains PURE's IV-7 Germ Defense disinfectant registration in South Africa

PURE Bioscience (NASDAQ:PURE), creator of the patented silver dihydrogen citrate (SDC) antimicrobial, today announced that its marketing partner, Richmont Sciences, LLC (Richmont), through its distributor, Bio Care Products (Pty) Ltd. of Lanseria, has obtained registration of PURE's SDC-based IV-7 Ultimate Germ Defense™ disinfectant for use on all inanimate surfaces by the South African National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications. PURE Bioscience plans to sell IV-7 Ultimate Germ Defense™ to Richmont Sciences for distribution in South Africa. It is anticipated that this same distribution structure will be implemented for IV-7 Water Treatment™, for which the necessary South African government letter of authorization, rather than registration, is expected to be received soon.

Michael L. Krall, President and CEO of PURE Bioscience, stated, "The 50 million people of South Africa are faced with the same dilemma as citizens worldwide when it comes to controlling the spread of harmful bacteria, viruses and fungi especially in close contact or closed population environments. Our SDC technology provides a revolutionary combination of high efficacy/low toxicity solutions to environmental, food chain and water-borne contamination, and we believe Richmont has the proper distribution channels in place to deliver IV-7 disinfectant and water treatment products to South Africa."

John Rochon, Chairman of Richmont, said, "This is another important step in the global introduction of IV-7 products. Securing registration in South Africa opens the door to expedited registration in other African countries. Just as we began our Middle East sales effort in Dubai as the launch point for that region, so also we believe that South Africa will be the launch point for bringing IV-7 products to other nations in Africa." He added that the initial focus in South Africa will be on business, industry and government sales, including the food processing, mining and commercial use sectors.