55 Years of Sterillium®

Next month marks a significant milestone for Sterillium® – our 55th birthday. While this birthday will no longer be the celebration we initially envisioned, it does make us stop and reflect on the importance of our founding mission to prevent infection – and our greater role and responsibility in society.

Sterillium® came to life as the world’s first alcohol-based yet skin-friendly hand disinfectant. Since then, we’ve come to stand for a whole lot more:

• Science: Science was at the heart of Sterillium’s® development and continues to shape our work today. Through the BODE SCIENCE CENTER, a scientific center of excellence for hygiene and infection protection, we are committed to developing practical solutions for infection prevention and providing specialized expertise through active research.
  
  
• Care: Killing germs is one thing, but for a hand disinfectant to be effective it needs to be able to be used every day without irritating the skin. Even with long-term use, Sterillium® remains friendly on skin, with moisturizing properties that promote healthy skin.
  Partnership: Over time, we have become a close partner of millions of healthcare workers and caregivers around the world. We take this level of trust seriously and work hard to ensure that what we place in the hands of those who protect others meets the highest standards.
  
  
• Quality: The outstanding antimicrobial activity offered by alcohol-based disinfectants combined with good skin tolerability make Sterillium® the gold standard for hygienic hand disinfection. However, this has not led us to become complacent – we continue to put Sterillium® to the test through ongoing international studies and field reports, based on the evolving needs of the healthcare industry.
  
  
• Pioneering spirit: A simple observation in a university clinic in Hamburg was able to revolutionize hand hygiene forever. The pioneering spirit that Sterillium® was founded on still drives us today as we continually look for ways to advance hand disinfection.
  

So much has changed in the last few months, let alone the last 55 years. It’s clear that our mission to fight infection is now a critical mission for the whole world. On this special Sterillium® birthday, we celebrate and champion the hospital workers for their courage during this time of COVID-19 but also every single day. We will continue to stand by their side and put the best in science on their hands.