AirWare Rebrands and Expands Filtered Nasal Products in China

Scottsdale, Ariz.-based AirWare Labs Corp. is expanding its distribution and sales of its Air filtered nasal products in China.
Through a joint venture agreement with Eastar Industries LLC, AirWare Labs’ nasal filters will be re-branded and sold in pharmacies throughout China, offering a new line of defense against the world’s highest levels of air pollution and avian flu.

Eastar Industries, a subsidiary of Eastar Chemical Corporation, focuses on Eastar’s pharmaceutical and health/beauty business for China and selected Southeast Asian countries. Eastar Industries licenses patented pharmaceuticals, medical devices and unique health/beauty products from the United States and European companies for import to China and Southeast Asia through its local joint venture partner companies.

“This joint venture with Eastar Industries is an important step in AirWare’s mission to help people live healthier lives through better breathing,” said Jeffrey Rassás, CEO of AirWare Labs. “AirWare’s filtered nasal products are an effective and discreet alternative to the face masks many wear to combat the negative effects of polluted air.”

Designed with an integrated filter media from 3M, AirWare’s nasal inserts are designed to trap airborne contaminants and prevent them from entering the body through the nasal passage. The filter protects wearers from up to 90 percent of common particulates, 75 percent or more of airborne viruses, and 92 percent or more of plant spores and airborne pollens. Face masks, which are widely used throughout China, do not provide a complete seal against contaminants and force wearers to breathe in their own exhaled carbon dioxide.

“Residents of China are very concerned about airborne viruses, air quality and their impact on health,” said Tony Chu, CEO of Eastar Industries. “AirWare’s filtered nasal products provide a great solution for hundreds of millions of people looking for a way to protect themselves and their families.”

Recent media reports have highlighted China’s worsening air pollution problems and the spread of avian flu:
The Washington Post reported in February that daily levels of PM2.5, a dangerous particulate that can cause asthma, cardiovascular disease and cancer, have reached 155.2 micrograms per cubic meter of air in China’s most polluted city. (The World Health Organization considers levels over 10 micrograms per cubic meter of PM2.5 to be hazardous.) By comparison, the worst U.S. city (Bakersfield, Calif.) measures 18.2 micrograms of PM2.5 per cubic meter.

The United Kingdom’s Guardian newspaper reports that air pollution in northern China will shorten 500 million Chinese lives by an average of 5.5 years. The New York Times reported in January that China had disclosed a steadily growing number of cases of the dangerous H7N9 bird flu, which killed 26 people last spring.

AirWare Labs’ joint venture agreement with Eastar Industries is the latest in a series of distribution announcements. The company recently negotiated a licensing agreement with Breathe Active, LLC that includes a $2 million national television media campaign. In 2013 AirWare Labs announced a national rollout into 7,500 Walgreen’s stores.

AirWare Labs Corp. makes health and wellness consumer devices. Its devices are marketed under the brand name Air, and they use a U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved, medical-grade silicone, molded as an intranasal Air Breathe dilator to act as the delivery system.