Delivering Good Health and Reliability

NEWS RELEASE

November 11, 2020

NBC Meshtec Inc.

Patented Technology “CufitecTM Anti-viral Technology Utilizing Monovalent CopperCompound” Confirmed to have Short-term Certain Inactivation Effecton the Novel Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2)

NBC Meshtec Inc. (President: Tetsuya Kaji, hereinafter referred to as “NBC Meshtech”), a Nisshin
Seifun Group company, confirmed at Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine andJapan Textile Products Quality and Technology Center (QTEC) that the company’s proprietary
technology “CufitecTM anti-viral technology utilizing monovalent copper compound” showed acertain inactivation effect in a short term against the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2).

■Verification study on the inactivation effect of patented technology CufitecTM on
the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2)
An experiment was conducted at Obihiro University to verify the inactivation effect of “CufitecTM
anti-viral technology utilizing monovalent copper compound” against the novel coronavirus (SARSCoV-2).
As a result of mixing and reacting the dispersion of CufitecTM with virus stock solution, it wasconfirmed that CufitecTM reduces SARS-CoV-2 by over 99.87% in 1 hour*1 compared to sterilized
ultrapure water.
In addition, an experiment at QTEC, a testing organization for textile products, on nonwovenfabrics and films processed with CufitecTM showed an over 99.96% reduction*2 of SARSCoV-2 in an hour for the nonwoven fabrics, and over 99.99% reduction in four hours*3 forthe films processed with CufitecTM.
*1*2*3Equal amounts of 750 μg/mL of monovalent copper compound dispersion and virus solution (viral titer:
7.25 log10 TCID50/mL) were mixed to examine the virus infectivity titer after 1 hour by TCID50.
(The test method is the mutatis mutandis application of the antiviral evaluation test conducted at Obihiro
University in “Efficacy Assessment of Disinfecting Substances Alternative to Alcohol Against SARS-CoV2” of the National Institute of Technology and Evaluation (NITE)
Test method according to JIS L1922
Test method according to ISO 21702

Note that this is a laboratory test and does not demonstrate the effectiveness of products using
CufitecTM or actual usage environments. Furthermore, it is not intended to verify the efficacy ofCufitecTM materials or CufitecTM processed products in preventing SARS-CoV-2 infections.

■CufitecTM is a patented proprietary technology
Since 2009, NBC Meshtech has been offering “CufitecTM anti-viral technology utilizing monovalentcopper compound” as a technology to provide clean, safe, and comfortable environments and toprotect against invisible threats such as viruses and bacteria. The technology was developed withthe following objectives: “Be effective against a wide range of microorganisms (viruses andbacteria),” “Be fast-acting (reduce viruses and bacteria in a short time),” and “Be stronglyeffective (prevent viruses and bacteria from spreading).” We have confirmed its inactivation
effect against viruses such as influenza viruses and feline calicivirus, as well as bacteria such as1

Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, through in-house tests, at public testing bodies,and in field tests under real environments.
The anti-viral technology using monovalent copper compound is proprietary technology of NBC
Meshtec, for which an international patent application was filed in August 2009, and which has
been patented in Japan and other major countries.

■Mechanism of CufitecTM patented anti-viral technology
The monovalent copper compound used in CufitecTM produces reactive oxygen because themonovalent copper ions eluted from the monovalent copper compound is more readily oxidized
than the divalent copper ions. This reactive oxygen acts to suppress the action of microorganisms,
exerting immediate and strong anti-viral and anti-bacterial effects (Fig. 1).
Figure 1. The Anti-viral and anti-bacterial mechanism of CufitecTM

When monovalent copper
nanoparticles collide withviruses or bacteria,monovalent copper ions areeluted into moisture.

The monovalent copper
ions react with oxygen,producing reactive oxygen.

Copper ions and reactive
oxygen together work toreduce viruses andbacteria.

NBC Meshtech will continue to develop “CufitecTM anti-viral technology utilizing monovalent coppercompound” to create clean, safe, and comfortable environments.
EndPlease direct any inquiries regarding technologies to:
NBC Meshtec Inc. Market Development Division
2-50-3 Toyoda, Hino-shi, Tokyo
Tel: +81-42-582-2496 Email: cufitec_nbc@nisshin.com
Please direct any media inquiries regarding this matter to:
PR Dept., General Affairs Div., Nisshin Seifun Group HeadquartersPersons incharge: Shiroji, Tezuka
Tel: +81-3-5282-6650 Email: mailbox@mail.nisshin.com■Handling of information in this news release
Reprinting or using the text, technical information, verification results, or other information includedin this news release without permission is strictly prohibited. Links to the web page containing thisnews release are also strictly prohibited. NBC Meshtec shall not be concerned with any third-party
representations that reproduce or use this news release or any third-party websites that display
links to this news release.

2