An Ontario-based performance apparel company has developed an antiviral fabric treatment that it says effectively destroys COVID-19 within 10 minutes.

Fast Company reports that Intelligent Fabric Technologies North America’s  (IFTNA) proprietary antiviral chemical PROTX2 AV is a potentially groundbreaking development in that it appears to have a leg up on other treatments that claim to kill “coronaviruses.”

With this antiviral fabric coating, your clothing could protect you from COVID-19 https://t.co/immP78ehrO

— Fast Company (@FastCompany) May 26, 2020

“Many antimicrobial textile companies cite protection against ‘coronavirus’ in larger letters on their websites, list the non-COVID-19 viruses they do kill in fine print, and present their products against the COVID-19 pandemic backdrop — which uninformed consumers might interpret as protection against COVID-19,” Fast Company states. However, “their products may not necessarily work against SARS-CoV-2. There are several kinds of coronaviruses that can affect humans, but only one that causes COVID-19. And although SARS-CoV-2 is a type of coronavirus, viruses don’t react the same way to the same chemicals.”

Meanwhile, independent laboratory tests have shown that PROTX2 AV specifically reduces active COVID-19 viral loads on tested fabrics by more than 99.9%. That represents a more than a thousand-fold reduction in active viral load when compared to untreated fabric.

“Motivated by the global need for protection of front-line workers and civilians alike, we are extremely excited to answer the call and bring forward a new weapon in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic,” Hylton Karon (pictured on the right), president and CEO of iFabric, IFTNA’s parent company, said in a statement. “As we prepare to reopen our economies, we see this technology in many applications, not only in the medical market, but in everyday apparel for added protection.”

Karon said the necessary emergency approvals from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA), as well as Health Canada, are in progress.

Once green-lighted by authorities, IFTNA plans to begin offering a PROTX2 AV laundry additive for washing at home; that could be available by autumn. The company is also planning to provide its own line of PROTX2 AV-infused personal protective equipment (PPE). A PROTX2 AV in-house lifestyle travel brand, Underit, is also slated to launch by the end of 2020 or early 2021.

Interest in PROTX2 AV is ramping up from household name brands, too. Careismatic Brands, which makes the Cherokee and Dickies brands, is looking into using the treatment on antiviral scrubs, lab coats, gowns and masks. North Face could include PROTX2 AV-cured products in its fall collections. Korea-based textile manufacturer Okyung International is developing PPE, military uniforms, medical dressings, and car and aircraft seats that feature PROTX2 AV.

“I believe this will be a game changer for iFabric,” Karon says of PROTX2 AV.

The CEO could well be right, if some analysts are to be believed.

“The antimicrobial textile market is going to be one of the rare markets that is not only having a short-term bounce from the COVID pandemic, but will experience long-term growth,” Scott Pantel, CEO of Life Science Intelligence, an independent medical technology analysis firm, told Fast Company. “If these guys are really the first to successfully test against COVID, they’re going to be huge winners.”