Sumitomo Chemical and IVCC have been working for the past 5 years to develop a new active ingredient with a novel mode of action for use in the fight against the mosquitoes that transmit malaria and other debilitating and often fatal diseases.
Extensive laboratory based studies demonstrating the safety and efficacy of this chemistry against insecticide resistant mosquitoes have now been completed. On World Mosquito Day, that commemorates the 1897 discovery by Sir Ronald Ross that female mosquitoes transmit malaria, we are delighted to announce these studies have moved to the next phase. This includes evaluating the performance of a range of prototype products in both laboratory and semi-field based settings.
The past 10 years have seen tremendous progress in the reduction in the number of cases and deaths from malaria due to widespread efforts to control mosquitoes primarily through the use of bed nets and indoor residual sprays.
This progress is however at risk as mosquitoes are developing resistance to many of the classes of insecticides currently available.
Sumitomo Chemical, with its long history of expertise in synthetic chemistry, has an exciting pipeline of new insecticides and products and has been at the forefront of developing new tools to combat disease transmitting insects. The current research effort has been supported by IVCC who have provided funding and access to a global multi-disciplinary team of experts.
Ray Nishimoto, Representative Director and Senior Managing Executive Officer at Sumitomo Chemical stated “Sumitomo Chemical is proud to be working with IVCC in the development of this new insecticide. When used in combination or rotation with other products and tools as part of a resistance management program this has the potential to substantially improve our ability to better control and, in the longer term, achieve our long term goal to eradicate malaria.”
Commenting on the project, Dr. Abdoulaye Diabate, a researcher in Burkina Faso at IRSS (Institut de Researche en Sciences de la Santé), where high levels of resistance in mosquitoes are being recorded said “Insecticides with novel modes of action such as this are desperately needed, because if we carry on using the same mosquito control tools we have been using in the past then there is no doubt that the increase in resistance levels we are seeing will lead to control failure, with up to half the lives currently saved by vector control lost.”
Dr. Nick Hamon (IVCC CEO) said: “Resistance to current insecticides is possibly the greatest problem facing us in our battle against malaria, so we should not underestimate the significance of this exciting development.”
For more information please email us on info@sumivector.com