20 November 2020 - - Laboratory studies show that toothpastes containing zinc or stannous and mouthwash formulas with cetylpyridinium chloride neutralize the virus that causes COVID-19 by 99.9%, US-based consumer product company Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE: CL) said.

The studies are part of a Colgate research program that includes clinical studies among infected people to assess the efficacy of oral care products in reducing the amount of the virus in the mouth, potentially slowing the transmission of the COVID-19 virus.

In the laboratory studies, the first to include toothpaste, Colgate Total and Meridol toothpastes neutralized 99.9% of the virus after two minutes of contact.

Colgate Plax and Colgate Total mouthwashes were similarly effective after 30 seconds.

The studies, completed in October, were conducted in partnership with Rutgers New Jersey Medical School's Public Health Research Institute and Regional Biosafety Laboratories.

The results suggest that some toothpastes and mouthwashes may help reduce the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, by temporarily reducing the amount of virus in the mouth.

The virus spreads through respiratory droplets or small particles produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes, sings, talks, or breathes, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Concurrent to the laboratory study, Colgate sponsored a clinical study involving some 50 hospitalized subjects with COVID-19.

This study demonstrated the ability of Colgate Total (with CPC and zinc), Colgate Peroxyl, and Colgate PerioGard mouthwashes to substantially reduce the amount of the virus in the mouth temporarily.

The researchers plan to share their findings in December.

Additional Colgate-supported clinical research studies on toothpaste and mouthwashes are in early stages at Rutgers, the Albert Einstein Institute in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Adams School of Dentistry, with some 260 people with COVID-19 participating in these studies.

As the world's #1 trusted dental expert, Colgate is committed to leading in science and to ensuring that its products address health challenges and meet consumers' needs.

Colgate-Palmolive Company is a caring, innovative growth company reimagining a healthier future for all people, their pets and our planet.

Focused on Oral Care, Personal Care, Home Care and Pet Nutrition and reaching more than 200 countries and territories, Colgate teams are developing and selling health and hygiene products and pet nutrition offerings essential to society through brands such as Colgate, Palmolive, elmex, meridol, Tom's of Maine, hello, Sorriso, Speed Stick, Softsoap, Irish Spring, Protex, Sanex, Filorga, eltaMD, PCA Skin, Ajax, Axion, Fabuloso, Soupline and Suavitel, as well as Hill's Science Diet and Hill's Prescription Diet.

Colgate seeks to deliver sustainable, profitable growth and superior shareholder returns and to provide Colgate people with an innovative and inclusive work environment.

Colgate does this by developing and selling products globally that make people's lives healthier and more enjoyable and by embracing its sustainability, diversity, equity and inclusion and social responsibility strategies across the organization.