Oxitec Completes Successful Scale-Up of Next-Generation Friendly™ Mosquito Technology in Brazil Designed to Accelerate Global Impact Against Disease-Spreading Invasive Pests
PRESS RELEASE
18 August 2022
Oxitec Completes Successful Scale-Up of Next-Generation Friendly™ Mosquito Technology in Brazil Designed to Accelerate Global Impact Against Disease-Spreading Invasive Pests
In partnership with the Brazilian City of Indaiatuba, Oxitec has successfully validated the Friendly™ Aedes aegypti solution at scale using new, sustainable product design, digital tools, and implementation of manufacturing innovations and processes designed to make the technology easy to deploy at scale and highly cost-effective.
To validate this next-generation Friendly™ Aedes aegypti in urban communities, season-long deployments against the disease-spreading Aedes aegypti mosquito were conducted across neighborhoods home to 45,000 residents in Indaiatuba.
This first phase of the scale-up program, supported by US$6.8 million of funding from Wellcome, has run in parallel with the targeted beta commercial launch of Friendly™ Aedes aegypti in São Paulo, Brazil’s most populous state.
Oxitec Ltd, the leading developer of insect-based biological solutions to control pests that transmit disease, destroy crops, and harm livestock, today announced the conclusion of the first phase of a project dedicated to large-scale validation of the company’s next-generation Friendly™ Aedes aegypti technology. In parallel with the ground-breaking commercial beta launch of Friendly™ Aedes aegypti in Brazil, Oxitec partnered with the city of Indaiatuba in areawide pilots validating new modes of manufacturing and deployment to accelerate the use of the product in dengue-impacted settings globally.
Supported by US$6.8 million in funding from Wellcome, one of the world’s largest charitable foundations, Oxitec is accelerating the roll-out of the Friendly™ Aedes aegypti product to combat the invasive mosquito Aedes aegypti, which spreads dengue, chikungunya, Zika and other viral diseases. Optimized deployment systems, new materials, automated manufacturing, and tailored digital systems were integrated and successfully tested in this season-long deployment of next-generation Friendly™ Aedes aegypti just-add-water devices in Indaiatuba communities of 45,000 residents. The successes of this scale-up project are speeding the Friendly™ Aedes aegypti to wider impact, delivering greater affordability and operational accessibility for dengue-prone communities in Brazil and worldwide.
The next phase of this scale-up project, planned to commence in November 2022, will roll out additional innovations and scale-up to continue to drive down costs and optimize the performance of Friendly™ Aedes aegypti in dengue-prone settings.
The successful first season of piloting new scale-up ran in parallel with the first beta commercial launch of Friendly™ Aedes aegypti in Brazil, which initially targeted select market segments in São Paulo state. Households, small and large businesses, schools, hotels, non-profits, and a range of other customers ordered subscriptions to receive season-long supplies of just-add-water kits to their doorstep. Oxitec is now preparing to scale commercial operations in Brazil, rolling out Friendly™ Aedes aegypti to more communities, governments, and businesses over the coming mosquito season.
Grey Frandsen, Oxitec’s CEO, added “This represents a major leap forward in our efforts to build, manufacture and deploy the world’s most effective Aedes aegypti control solution with a focus on driving costs down, accessibility up, and empowering everyone to participate in the fight against dengue and other vector-borne diseases. Of course, we can only make such leaps with the support of outstanding partners like Wellcome and the City of Indaiatuba.”
The Mayor of Indaiatuba, Nilson Gaspar, commented, “As a public leader, I am very happy to continue this partnership with Oxitec. Friendly™ Aedes aegypti has helped us to control the mosquito population that conveys dengue in Indaiatuba. Notably, in neighborhoods where Friendly™ Aedes aegypti were applied, the number of confirmed dengue cases were much lower. Last year, we were the city with the least number of confirmed cases of dengue, per hundred thousand people, among the cities in the Metropolitan Region of Campinas.”
Natalia Ferreira, Oxitec’s Country Director in Brazil, said, “This first scale-up pilot season was outstanding and has fulfilled all our objectives. As we make the Friendly™ Aedes aegypti available to more cities and businesses across Brazil, this successful public-private partnership with the city of Indaiatuba has accelerated our mission to reach as many dengue-threatened communities as possible.”
Oxitec welcomes all media inquiries.
Oxitec Press Office US/UK:
+1-202-792-3080
Oxitec Press Office Brazil:
André Guerra – andre.guerra@cdicom.com.br - (11) 99674-7758
About Oxitec
Oxitec is the leading developer of biological solutions to control pests that transmit disease, destroy crops and harm livestock. Founded in 2002 at the University of Oxford, Oxitec is led by a passionate team comprised of 15 nationalities and is supported by world-class public, private and non-profit partners.
Learn more at oxitec.com.
About Wellcome
Wellcome supports science to solve the urgent health challenges facing everyone. We support discovery research into life, health and wellbeing, and we’re taking on three worldwide health challenges: mental health, global heating and infectious diseases.