Oxitec Successfully Launches Second Scale-Up Season of Next-Generation Friendly™ Mosquito Technology in Brazil
PRESS RELEASE
9 December 2022
Oxitec Successfully Launches Second Scale-Up Season of Next-Generation Friendly™ Mosquito Technology in Brazil
In partnership with the Brazilian city of Indaiatuba, and with funding from the Wellcome Trust, Oxitec will validate new, sustainable product design, digital tools, and implementation of manufacturing innovations and processes designed to accelerate cost-effective deployment at scale for global impact.
Following the successful suppression pilots against the Aedes aegypti mosquito, and the first scale up season in 2021-2022, Friendly™ Aedes aegypti will be integrated into the city’s vector control program, targeting mosquitoes in eight neighborhoods resident to 45,000 people in this upcoming season.
This second season of the scale-up program, supported by funding from Wellcome, coincides with the national launch of the Friendly™ Aedes aegypti product across Brazil.
Oxitec Ltd, the leading developer of insect-based biological solutions to control pests that transmit disease, destroy crops, and harm livestock, today announced the launch of the second season of scale-up deployments of its next-generation Friendly™ Aedes aegypti in partnership with the city of Indaiatuba. Following a season of successful validation of innovative manufacturing and deployment systems, this season offers the opportunity to deploy new product innovations at a larger scale to combat the disease-spreading Aedes aegypti mosquito in disease-impacted communities globally.
Since 2018, Oxitec and the city of Indaiatuba have been working in close partnership on the control of Aedes aegypti – which spreads dengue, chikungunya, Zika and other viral diseases – in the city, with the safe and sustainable Friendly™ Aedes aegypti integrated into the municipal mosquito control program. The partnership team will use this second season to maximize product cost-effectiveness at scale through optimization of distribution and deployment pathways, validation of new product form factors incorporating new materials, and incorporation of new features into the FriendlyOS digital platform.
This new scale-up season with the City of Indaiatuba coincides with the commercial expansion of Friendly™ Aedes aegypti, delivered as an easy-to-use, just-add-water product to households, businesses and cities across all Brazilian states, served by licensed distributors nationwide.
Oxitec’s just-add-water product yields non-biting Friendly™ male mosquitoes over time, which mate with invasive, biting Aedes aegypti females. Their female offspring cannot survive, which means fewer biting female mosquitoes in the following generations. This Friendly™ product technology controls the pest mosquito without harming beneficial species like bees and butterflies.
The Friendly™ Aedes aegypti mosquito control product is now available nationwide across Brazil. To deliver national impact, Oxitec has partnered with leading pest control companies that will distribute and deploy the product in every state in Brazil. Leading companies across sectors have placed orders for the Friendly™ Aedes to protect their employees, customers and local communities.
For Grey Frandsen, CEO of Oxitec, "This second scale-up season comes at the perfect time. As we meet growing customer demand across Brazil, validation of next generation product features and processes, and pressure-testing them in large-scale pilots in dengue-affected communities in the city of Indaiatuba, offers the ideal platform from which to launch efforts to protect communities around the world threatened by the invasive Aedes aegypti mosquito. Thanks to partnerships with Indaiatuba and Wellcome, this new scale-up season will bring us closer to delivering global impact against disease-spreading pests where it’s needed the most. This is a wonderful example of what excellent public-private-non-profit partnerships can deliver in the face of growing public health challenges due to climate change.”
Natalia Ferreira, Oxitec Brazil’s director, added that "We’re honored to make our just-add-water Friendly™ Aedes aegypti product available to communities committed to combating the growing threat of dengue mosquito in Brazil in a safe and sustainable way. Thanks to our world-class team and the pioneering city of Indaiatuba, the success of our deployments here over multiple seasons has accelerated our mission to protect dengue-threatened households, cities, and businesses across Brazil and beyond."
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Oxitec welcomes all media inquiries.
Oxitec Press Office US/UK:
+1-202-792-3080
press@oxitec.com
Oxitec Press Office Brazil:
André Guerra – andre.guerra@cdicom.com.br - (11) 99674-7758
pressbr@oxitec.com
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.
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.
Supported by the Wellcome Trust, grant number 221376/Z/20/Z.