It is with great sadness that IVCC marks the passing of Colin Ruscoe. Colin worked with IVCC from its inception in 2005, chairing the External Scientific Advisory Committee (ESAC), helping direct research and development programmes to discover and deliver new chemical products and surveillance systems for the elimination of Anopheles and Aedes mosquito vectors of malaria, Zika and dengue.

Nick Hamon, recently retired CEO of IVCC said: “We have so appreciated Colin’s role in helping IVCC and its partners bring new vector control products to market.  Colin’s impact on global public health cannot be underestimated. As Chair of IVCC’s ESAC, Colin’s knowledge expertise and guidance has helped save thousands of lives. His role and impact has been positively heroic.”

IVCC would like to extend their deepest condolences to Colin’s family and friends. He will be sorely missed by many.

News Release

Date issued: 30 December 2022

In a major step forward for vector borne disease control, the Vector Expedited Review Voucher (VERV), championed by IVCC following a policy proposal by Duke University, has been signed into US Law. IVCC and Duke University began work on VERV in 2015.

VERV is modelled on the US Food and Drug Administration’s Priority Review Voucher program legislated in 2007 (Sec. 524 FDA Amendments Act), which offers a priority review of a second product as a reward for new treatments targeting selected diseases. The Vector Expedited Review Voucher offers registrants of vector control tools a similar financial incentive, a voucher, in reward for registration of novel public health insecticides that can combat malaria and other vector-borne diseases.

Nick Hamon, CEO of IVCC said: “Keeping the private sector engaged in the discovery and development of new technologies to combat malaria and neglected tropical diseases is essential.  However, due to high development costs, the risk of market failure and the time it takes to bring a new product to market, incentives are limited. The Vector Expedited Review Voucher is a game changer. It will provide a financial incentive for public health insecticide development which hopefully will continue to secure and sustain product innovation into the future.”

The VERV rewards the manufacturer of a new public health insecticide with a voucher to receive an expedited registration review of a second, more profitable product. Getting the second product to market faster generates market value for the manufacturer which helps mitigate the investment losses typical in public health insecticide development. A registrant can also sell the awarded voucher.

Jeffrey Moe, Adjunct Faculty of the Duke Global Health Institute, a co-author along with other Duke faculty proposing the PRV programme and the new VERV added: “PRV has had a positive impact on the development of treatments with limited profitability for neglected tropical diseases, rare paediatric disorders and, more recently, medical counter measures. The Vector Expedited Review Voucher programme can, like PRV, stimulate the development of innovative vector control solutions to help us better control, and hopefully eradicate, diseases such as malaria.”

IVCC, Duke University and stakeholders will continue to work with the US Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) as it develops and implements the VERV programme to stimulate investment in new public health insecticides and products for the control of vector-borne diseases.

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For further information contact:

Chris Larkin, Director of Communications and Operations

Christopher.larkin@ivcc.com

+44 (0)7712 402498

Note to editors:

Further details about the Vector Expedited Review Voucher (VERV) are available on:

www.ivcc.com/vector-control/vector-expedited-review-voucher-verv/

www.vectorvoucher.info

The IVCC Board of Trustees is delighted to announce that Justin McBeath has been appointed as the new CEO of IVCC. Justin, who succeeds Nick Hamon after nine years in the role, will take up his position in February 2023.

Justin brings with him more than 25 years of experience working in various international leadership positions related to the development, registration and marketing of mosquito and other pest management solutions. For the past twelve years Justin has led the malaria vector control strategy for Bayer Environmental Science (now Envu) and has an established strong network across the global malaria community.

Commenting on his appointment Justin said: “I am honoured and excited to be appointed as IVCC’s next CEO. Under Nick’s leadership IVCC made great progress in expanding the toolbox and supporting market access activities of vector control interventions designed to address the widespread challenge of insecticide resistance across endemic countries. Vector control continues to be a critical weapon in the fight against malaria but, as we are all aware, despite continued innovation, malaria progress has stalled. New tools are still urgently needed to get us back on track and to respond to the challenges of malaria and other vector-borne diseases across sub-Saharan Africa and beyond.

Newly appointed Chair of the Board of Trustees, Sherwin Charles added: “Justin brings with him the leadership qualities and experience to help IVCC successfully deliver the next phase of its mission. Building on the work of Nick and the whole IVCC team, we are confident that Justin brings the understanding and ability to respond and proactively lead the further development and deployment of malaria and other vector-borne disease solutions which will save more lives and lift more disease endemic countries out of poverty.

….ends….

For further information please contact:

Chris Larkin

Director of Communications and Operations

Email:   christopher.larkin@ivcc.com

Phone:  +44 (0)7712 402498

The IVCC Board of Trustees has confirmed Sherwin Charles as the new Chair of IVCC’s Board of Trustees. Sherwin will take over from Sir Stephen O’Brien, who served as an IVCC Trustee in two spells between 2008 and 2018 and as Chair between 2018 and 2022.  Jon Schofield has also been appointed as Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees.

Sherwin, who has been an IVCC Trustee since 2018, is the CEO and co-founder of Goodbye Malaria and Board member of the Global Fund. After spending 15 years in the banking and financial services industry Sherwin joined the Nando’s team in 2006.  From 2016 he dedicated his time at Nando’s to supporting and leading their malaria efforts.

Commenting on his appointment Sherwin said: “I am honoured and excited to be appointed as IVCC’s next Chair of the Board of Trustees. I would like to pay tribute to Stephen for his outstanding service, not only as Trustee and Chair of IVCC, but for his remarkable leadership across the global malaria community. Stephen’s long-serving passion and dedication to malaria and neglected tropical diseases has been both extraordinary and impactful. As a leading advocate for global health, Stephen founded, and then served as the first Chairman, of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases and his work as a UK Development Minister at the United Nations, the RBM Partnership to End Malaria, the Malaria Consortium, the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and IVCC has changed the global malaria landscape for good. We are truly grateful for his service.”

Retiring Chair Sir Stephen O’Brien added: “It has been a true privilege to have served as a Trustee since IVCC was first incorporated in 2008. I am delighted that the Board has appointed Sherwin as the new Chair. IVCC and its Board are in dedicated and experienced hands for the future as we have effected a seamless transition. I wish to place on record my intense gratitude for the unfailing support of all my fellow Trustees, including those who have retired from the Board during my time, especially our Hon. President, my predecessor as Chair, Sir Mark Moody-Stuart. Our collective endeavour to govern and guide IVCC expertly and in the best interests of the people we serve in the malaria endemic countries and of IVCC and its people who are its core have been rewarded by the exceptional success of IVCC, an exemplar for the Product Development Partnership (PDP) model, its proven impact, and its prospects, in saving lives, reducing suffering and hardship, and giving people health, hope and agency to survive and thrive.”

….ends….

For further information please contact:

Chris Larkin, Director of Communications and Operations

Email:    christopher.larkin@ivcc.com

Phone: +44 (0)7712 402498

The IVCC Annual Report 2021-2022 has been published.

The report showcases IVCC’s work to facilitate innovative approaches to preventing vector-borne diseases and tackle the growing threat of insecticide resistance. With activities across the globe and spanning research and development and market access, we are accelerating the process from innovation to impact.

The report is a reminder of the importance of collaborative working and the progress laid out in it is testament, too, to the commitment of our partners from industry, academia, the public sector and advocacy. We are grateful for the support of all our funders, who make life-saving vector control possible.

“We owe it to those who have to suffer the misery of malaria, year in year out, to break this cycle and defeat malaria for good. IVCC is poised to sustain and enhance its core role in that global and noble mission.”

The Right Honourable Sir Stephen O’Brien KBE, Chair, Board of Trustees, IVCC.

For more information or to request a physical copy please provide your full name and postal address to Laura Roberts on laura.roberts@ivcc.com.