Our Origin Story

In 1994, Walter Hayhurst, R.Ph., was at the height of a distinguished career in pharmaceutical science. As founder of the Professional Compounding Centers of America (PCCA) in 1981, he built an organization that grew to over 4,000 member pharmacists and developed more than 9,500 proprietary medicines. After retiring from PCCA in 1992 to pursue cancer research, Walter’s life took an unexpected turn when he was overcome by a debilitating illness and diagnosed with several comorbid and potentially terminal diseases.

What Walter didn’t know then was that he had a genetic predisposition to mold sensitivity, and his environment was slowly poisoning him. As a healthcare professional and researcher, he refused to surrender to his prognosis and began searching for the cause and treatment of his mysterious illness.

Walter’s search led him to a compound pharmacist colleague in Atlanta, Georgia, who introduced him to a physician specializing in treating mold patients. This experience sparked a collaboration to develop products that could address moldy environments, mold symptoms, and the chemical sensitivities that accompany mold illness, all using natural, safe ingredients.

Walter had previously investigated the antifungal activity of grapefruit seeds, and he began developing formulations combining various citrus seed extracts. Using a moldy room as a control environment, he diligently tested thousands of formulations with tens of thousands of petri dish mold tests, collaborating with compound pharmacists across the country to find the right combination of safe botanicals.

In 2004, after a decade of research, Walter began commercially selling CitriSafe products. What started as one man’s search for answers grew into a company dedicated to helping others navigate the same journey — from environmental illness to recovery.

In 2018, Walter entrusted CitriSafe’s future to JW Biava, who founded ImmunoLytics in 2006 and spent over two decades helping patients identify and overcome environmental illness. Under JW’s leadership, CitriSafe continues Walter’s legacy while expanding to serve even more individuals and families. Walter remains an active advisor on research, patient engagement, and new product formulations.

This page describes the founding history of CitriSafe and its leadership transition. It does not constitute claims of therapeutic efficacy for any product.