If this was patented in 1985, that patent would have expired in 2005 so I’m not really sure what you’re on about. This whole thing screams “VC scam” to me so I haven’t bothered looking into the actual patents, but I’m sure there’s more to it than just “person sat on a patent for 20 years”.
If the patent's expired, they should just offer to send innoculated swabs to anyone who asks. Then we can innoculate our loved ones with a kiss, and so on ...