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Pure Bioscience
Tom Y. Lee took Pure Bioscience public via reverse merger in 1996, anchoring the company on a proprietary silver-ion chemistry it calls silver dihydrogen...
Pure Bioscience
Tom Y. Lee took Pure Bioscience public via reverse merger in 1996, anchoring the company on a proprietary silver-ion chemistry it calls silver dihydrogen citrate. Unlike traditional sanitizers that degrade quickly or leave toxic residues, SDC maintains residual antimicrobial activity on surfaces for extended periods. The intellectual property strategy is narrow: one core patent estate around SDC, licensed or sold as a concentrate to downstream formulators and distributors. The company operates across two vectors. Food safety — where SDC is approved for direct food contact sanitization in processing plants — and branded disinfectants for institutional consumers. Product examples include PURE Hard Surface, a ready-to-use disinfectant; PURE Multi-Purpose, sold into foodservice; and SDC-based formulations supplied to partners like Phase One Brands. Pure Bio's revenue model is a blend of concentrate sales to manufacturing partners and finished-goods distribution through channels such as Sysco. It also maintains relationships with chemical distributors in Asia, notably through a long-running partnership with Itochu for Japanese market access. Scale is modest. The company reported fewer than 50 employees in recent filings and operates from its El Cajon headquarters. Its shareholder base includes retail investors and the founding Lee family. In March 2022, the company secured a private placement of $3.25 million to fund continued commercial trials and working capital. There is no known investment vehicle for outside limited partners, though the firm has historically raised through equity offerings when commercial partnerships required scaling. The structural differentiator is a concentrated licensing and royalty model built around one molecule. Rather than competing across dozens of chemistry lines like Ecolab or Diversey, Pure Bioscience prosecutes SDC across regulatory environments — EPA, FDA, and international equivalents. This narrow bet means the business trades on regulatory milestones and single-partner adoption cycles, not diversified product pipelines. Succession is straightforward but unresolved: Tom Y. Lee remains the controlling shareholder and CEO, with no publicly disclosed plan for leadership transition.
General information
Firm type
Asset Manager
Year founded
1992
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
El Cajon
Corporate office
El Cajon, CA, United States
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
What is Pure Bioscience's core technology?
Pure Bioscience owns patents around silver dihydrogen citrate (SDC), an antimicrobial molecule that uses silver ions to disrupt microbial cell metabolism. Unlike conventional disinfectants based on quaternary ammonium compounds or bleach, SDC claims extended residual activity — providing ongoing antimicrobial performance on treated surfaces for hours or days after application. This chemistry is the foundation for all the company's products and licensing partnerships.
How does Pure Bioscience generate revenue?
The company operates a dual model. It sells SDC concentrate to downstream manufacturers who incorporate the molecule into their own formulations under supply agreements. Separately, it markets finished branded products — such as PURE Hard Surface disinfectant and PURE Multi-Purpose cleaner — through foodservice distribution channels. Revenue also includes licensing fees from international partners like Itochu, which holds rights for the Japanese market.
Who controls Pure Bioscience?
Tom Y. Lee, the company's founder and CEO, is the controlling shareholder. He has been the central figure since the company's inception in 1992, guiding its technology development and public-market strategy. The firm's relatively small shareholder base consists of retail investors, institutional holders typical of a micro-cap stock, and members of the Lee family. No outside activist or institutional blockholder has publicly emerged.
Does Pure Bioscience operate as an investment fund or family office?
No. Pure Bioscience is an operating company structured as a publicly traded commercial-stage life sciences firm. It does not manage outside capital in a fund structure, has no limited partners, and is not a vehicle for investing in other companies. All capital is allocated to developing and commercializing its antimicrobial technology. There is no separate family-office entity associated with the Lee family that discloses public investment activities.
What regulatory approvals does the SDC molecule carry?
Silver dihydrogen citrate is registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as an antimicrobial pesticide and is FDA-approved for direct food-contact sanitization in processing environments. The company has also pursued international registrations, including in Japan under its Itochu partnership. New product claims or market segments typically require additional regulatory clearances, which the company pursues partner-by-partner and geography-by-geography.
Are there successors to the current CEO and controlling shareholder?
No publicly disclosed succession plan exists. Tom Y. Lee remains CEO, chairman, and the largest beneficial owner as of the most recent filings. The narrow leadership structure means key-person risk is material. None of the remaining officers or directors have been identified in public filings as a planned successor, and no family-member transition has been announced.
How is Pure Bioscience capitalized and what are its financing patterns?
As a micro-cap public company, Pure Bioscience raises capital through occasional equity offerings and private placements. Its most recent known raise was a $3.25 million private placement in March 2022. The firm does not carry significant long-term debt, relying instead on equity-linked instruments and revenue from its core partnerships to sustain operations. Cash consumption is tied to regulatory prosecution costs and sales-force expansion.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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