Homegrown pharmaceutical products supplier Pasture Pharma has obtained US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for a pair of disposable masks for use in a pandemic.

The company redesigned the shape and fit of conventional masks to come up with the new masks, which reduce exposure to airborne germs and viruses. One of the key problems with conventional masks is the inability to achieve a proper fit to the facial shape and contours of untrained adults.

The masks come in two models - Pasture A520G has a cup shape, while Pasture F550G can be folded flat. According to the company, it is only the second manufacturer worldwide to receive FDA clearance for the use of such masks in a public health emergency.

Pasture Pharma has started marketing the masks in the US, where it has appointed Tulsa-based Airborne Technology as its North American distributor. It will start to sell to Singapore and Taiwan in the first half of this year and is in talks with distributors for the Middle East, Thailand and China.

The masks are made in Taiwan, but if demand picks up, a second factory could be set up in Singapore.