ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — CarraShield Labs, Inc. has been issued U.S. Patent 10,688,043, the first in a series of patent filings developed by its chief scientist, Dr. Mario Tremblay, covering the natural anti-viral gel technology marketed as CarraShield and available over-the-counter in Divine 9 lubricant.
The technology uses a unique sea algae extract as the active ingredient, resulting in a naturally derived product that has shown efficacy against human papillomavirus (HPV). According to the company, Divine 9 with CarraShield is the first and only personal lubricant formulated with a sea algae extract, also known as carrageenan, to be FDA-approved as a Class II Medical Device.
Published independent clinical results from the CATCH (Carrageenan-gel Against Transmission of Cervical HPV) McGill University Medical School Phase IIb study shows that women can reduce the risk of contracting cancer and wart-causing HPV infections by using Divine 9 personal lubricant. In the CATCH study, the McGill team evaluated the long-term use of Divine 9 by hundreds of women.
“They found that using Divine 9 personal lubricant in each intimate encounter reduced the number of new HPV infections as compared to using a standard lubricant,” the company said.
CarraShield Labs’ patented gel technology was first tested at the National Cancer Institute. This was followed by confirmatory studies at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and joint work with The Population Council.
“While the HPV vaccine protects against at the most nine strains of the virus, potentially, the carrageenan-based lubricant can provide total protection from HPV,” said Dr. Eduardo Franco, the principle investigator at University of McGill Medical School.
