PETALING JAYA: K-One Technology Bhd has been granted a non-exclusive license agreement to manufacture and distribute Ventilator Intervention Technology Accessible Locally (Vital) ventilators worldwide, following a competitive assessment via California Institute of Technology (Caltech).
The ventilators are designed by Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (Nasa-JPL) and targeted for Covid-19, and is not related to the conventional ventilator previously announced by K-One Tech.
K-One Tech is one of the 21 global licensees that has been selected by Nasa-JPL, out of the 96 companies from 42 countries that submitted their proposals for the Vital ventilator license. It is the only company in Malaysia and in the Asean and East Asian regions to have been granted the license.
“The board is of the opinion that the agreement is in the best interest of K-One Tech, as the manufacturing and distribution of the low-cost Vital ventilator is to meet the shortage of ventilators to fight Covid-19 in specific countries and also to prepare for the second wave of infections as countries begin to lift their respective lockdowns,” it said in a Bursa filing.
The licence means the group is free to use, share, distribute, and make available to others, copy, modify and build upon the technology during the licence term, which will end on the final day the World Health Organisation’s Public Health Emergency Of International Concern is in effect or on Oct 1, 2024, whichever is earlier.
In turn, K-One has agreed to license any modifications and improvements to Caltech, including Nasa-JPL for research and government use for the duration of any period of protection.
It highlighted that the Vital ventilator uses far fewer parts than a conventional ventilator and these parts are easily available from the market and not the usual parts found in conventional ventilators so as not to disrupt the latter’s supply chain.
In addition, the low-cost ventilator is designed and built with less maintenance requirements and can be modified for use in field hospitals to address the shortage of ventilators in the ongoing pandemic in specific countries.
It stated that the licence will have an immaterial impact on the issued share capital and net assets of K-One but it is expected to contribute positively to its earnings for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2020. The business will be funded through internally generated funds.
