Syngenta and IVCC collaboration delivers new long-lasting insecticide formulation, Actellic® 300CS, now recommended by the World Health Organization to fight insecticide resistant mosquitoes.

Syngenta and IVCC are proud to announce that The World Health Organization Pesticide Evaluation Scheme (WHOPES) has granted a formal recommendation for the use of Actellic® 300CS in malaria vector control. The WHO recommendation opens up additional opportunities for more malaria control programs around the world to access this new long lasting insecticide formulation designed for the control of pyrethroid resistant mosquitoes.

Syngenta believes that people deserve to live their lives uninterrupted by mosquitoes and the diseases that they can transmit. Syngenta has a rich pipeline of insecticides and access to advanced delivery technologies and consequently has been providing leading edge solutions on mosquito control for decades.

Mosquitoes have evolved to survive a number of the existing control products and this threatens the effectiveness of disease prevention programs. IVCC is a product development partnership committed to working with industrial partners to accelerate the development and introduction of new tools to meet these challenges. Syngenta and IVCC have had a long standing collaboration to accelerate and enrich the innovation pipeline for mosquito control.

The development of Actellic 300CS was initiated in 2007, not only to control resistance to the pyrethroid class of chemistry, but also deliver longer lasting performance to facilitate greater program efficiency in spraying programs. Since then, the WHO Global Plan for Insecticide Resistance Management recommends the deployment of non pyrethroid products when programs are looking for technology to complement mass distribution of long lasting insecticide treated mosquito nets.

Syngenta used their expertise in microencapsulation technology to create Actellic 300CS, which is designed specifically for residual spraying. Numerous independent trials have demonstrated at least 9 months residual performance on a range of household surfaces, a significant improvement over current alternatives. Trials have also demonstrated control of pyrethroid resistant strains in both Anopheles and Culex species of mosquitoes.

This unique combination of controlling pyrethroid resistance with proprietary long lasting technology provides the opportunity for malaria control program managers have a greater impact on malaria as part of their integrated control program. Long lasting performance allows for reduction of spray program costs through moving to just one application per season whilst also managing pyrethroid resistance. This is essential when long lasting insecticide treated nets are currently dominated by this class of chemistry.

Actellic 300CS is the first commercial product to exit the IVCC pipeline, and this important WHO recognition meets one of Syngenta [MSB1] and IVCC’s commitments to provide access to new technology in disease endemic countries. More than a million people are now estimated to be protected by Actellic 300CS and production has been scaled up to support all key markets.

This development is just one step on the journey to develop new solutions to controlling mosquito-borne disease, and more alternatives are urgently needed, especially in the fight against growing insecticide resistance. Syngenta and IVCC continue to collaborate on the development of the next generation of insecticides, which will provide a robust solution to future insecticide resistance and equip malaria control programs with the tools they need to defeat malaria.

For more information on Actellic 300CS or Syngenta products please contact: vector.control@syngenta.com

Footnote: Actellic is a registered trademark of the the Syngenta Group companies

Syngenta and IVCC collaboration deliver new long-lasting insecticide formulation, Actellic® 300CS, now recommended by the World Health Organization to fight insecticide resistant mosquitoes

IVCC’s stakeholder event in 2013 took place at MIM in Durban, when key individuals and organisations from all over the world gathered to share information and strategies for fighting malaria.

One of IVCC’s key objectives for stakeholder events is to engage with people working in country control programmes. The MIM Pan-African Malaria Conference 2013 in Durban provided a perfect opportunity to make contact and learn from people in the front line of malaria vector control.

The IVCC stand provided a visual summary of key achievements since the launch of IVCC in 2005 and a time frame for delivery of new vector control tools.

There were many visitors to the stand. Most were seeking  information about the progress of IVCC’s collaboration with industry partners to develop the three new active ingredients that will form the basis of a new generation of public health insecticides. A frequent question was, ‘how long before you can deliver?’, indicative of growing concerns about insecticide resistance.

Information about IVCC’s portfolio and details about insecticide resistance were presented to delegates in an IVCC symposium on new tools for the management of insecticide resistance.

Professor Hilary Ranson from LSTM started the IVCC symposium with an overview of insecticide resistance in vector control. Dr Charles Wondji looked at the mechanisms of insecticide resistance and Professor Diabate Abdoulaye considered current strategies and future challenges for malaria vector control in Africa. An industry perspective was provided by Frederic Baur, who outlined the development of new products for insecticide resistance management.

During an evening reception later in the week, the new IVCC CEO, Dr Nick Hamon, outlined the IVCC mission and objectives for the next few years. Tribute was paid to the founders of IVCC and thanks recorded to the committed industry partners and funders who make the work of IVCC possible.
IVCC also took part in a demonstration of the new  Insecticide Quantification Kits (IQKs), which are designed to help spray programmes monitor the effectiveness of indoor residual spraying.

IVCC has welcomed the WHO Pre-Qualification of Bayer’s Fludora™ Fusion, combining different modes of action, as another major step forward in malaria control and insecticide resistance management.

IVCC supported the development of this new indoor residual spray (IRS) product in field trials where the product was tested against various resistant mosquito strains and on different relevant surface types. The data generated demonstrated that Fludora™ Fusion provides robust and consistent results, matching the needs of malaria control programs across Africa.

Nick Hamon, CEO of IVCC said: “We were pleased to have been able to support part of the Fludora™ Fusion trial program and to see this milestone achieved. New vector control tools are desperately needed to combat resistance and this is another positive addition to the toolbox.”

IVCC’s David McGuire who, with other consortium partners PMI, Abt Associates and PATH, leads the $65.1m Unitaid funded NgenIRS initiative, added: “Fludora™ Fusion will be a powerful and timely addition to the range of new indoor residual spray products implementing partners can use across sub-Saharan Africa.Following the successful deployment of Syngenta’s Actellic® 300 CS and Sumitomo’s SumiShield® we now have greater choice of new generation IRS products that can support sub-national rotation of insecticides, a major weapon against the threat of insecticide resistance. The introduction of more products from different manufacturers has also created a competitive environment for third generation IRS that is driving down prices to affordable levels for malaria control programs and their donor partners.

Dr. Jacqueline M. Applegate, Head of the Environmental Science business unit at Bayer added: “We are very proud to have achieved WHO Pre-Qualification for Fludora™ Fusion; it reflects our long-term commitment towards supporting the elimination of vector-borne diseases. It is a clear example of our focus on applying science to advance life – malaria control programs will now have access to an additional safe, efficient and cost-effective solution to protect the millions at risk from the disease.”

For further information, please contact:

Chris Larkin
Head of Communications and External Relations
IVCC
Phone: +44 151 702 9371
Mobile: +44 7712 402498
Email: christopher.larkin@IVCC.com(link sends e-mail)

About IVCC

IVCC is the only product development partnership (PDP) working in vector control. Established in 2005, IVCC works with stakeholders to facilitate the development of novel and improved public health insecticides and formulations and provides information tools to enable their effective use. IVCC’s vision is simply to save lives, protect health and increase prosperity by preventing insect-borne diseases. IVCC is funded by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, UKaid, USAID, Unitaid, the Global Fund, the Australian Government and The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.

About Bayer

Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the Life Science fields of health care and agriculture. Its products and services are designed to benefit people and improve their quality of life. At the same time, the Group aims to create value through innovation, growth and high earning power. Bayer is committed to the principles of sustainable development and to its social and ethical responsibilities as a corporate citizen.

IVCC is to lead a consortium of partners on a ground-breaking project funded by Unitaid and the Global Fund to bring to market new versions of insecticide-treated bed nets to fight malaria-carrying mosquitoes that have become resistant to older insecticides. It is hoped that the nets will provide a stronger line of defence against malaria for millions of people.

The New Nets Project, signed in Geneva yesterday will pilot long-lasting insecticidal bed nets treated with new insecticide combinations in sub-Saharan African countries hardest hit by malaria.

The Global Fund and Unitaid will each contribute US$33 million to the four-year project. The coalition, consisting of PATH, Population Services International (PSI) / Alliance for Malaria Prevention (AMP), London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), with support from Imperial College London, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, and Tulane University, will run between 2018 and 2022.

The project will build the evidence needed to allow WHO to consider making new policy around the use of these nets and will also assess their cost-effectiveness under pilot conditions.

The production volumes procured for the pilots will help the project to negotiate significant price reductions. These reductions are needed to make the new nets a sustainable choice for countries looking for the best value for money in controlling malaria.

Nick Hamon, CEO of IVCC said; “The continued success and impact on lives saved of the NGenIRS project means that IVCC is well positioned, with its project partners, to demonstrate the public health value of new dual active ingredient bed nets and deliver radically new solutions to combat the growing threat of insecticide resistance which is prevalent across malaria endemic countries.

Unitaid’s Executive Director Lelio Marmora added: “Working with partners such as the Global Fund, we can leverage the effect of our innovations, such as new insecticides and new insecticide-treated nets,” said “Together we can make a powerful impact against malaria.”

Mosquito nets provide a physical barrier against mosquitoes and treating the nets with insecticide makes them lethal for mosquitoes that land on them. One of the most effective means of preventing malaria is sleeping under a long-lasting insecticidal net.

Mosquitoes’ resistance to insecticides threatens to undermine progress against malaria. Although the number of new malaria cases has fallen dramatically over the past 15 years, progress has recently stalled. According to the World Health Organization, there were 216 million cases of malaria worldwide in 2016, 5 million more cases than the year before.

A child dies of malaria every two minutes, although the disease is preventable and curable.

“By investing in insecticide-treated nets and other tools, the Global Fund partnership has greatly reduced the burden of malaria,” said Peter Sands, Executive Director of the Global Fund. “This project is a step toward accelerating impact by embracing innovation – with the ultimate goal of malaria elimination.”

The New Nets Project will support the WHO’s malaria goals, which aim by 2030 to reduce malaria cases and deaths by 90 percent, eliminate the disease in at least 35 countries and prevent a resurgence in countries that are malaria-free.

IVCC is leading another Unitaid-funded initiative, the US$65 million NgenIRS project, which is ushering in new long-lasting indoor residual insecticide sprays to replace less-effective older chemistries and formulations. Unitaid’s work against malaria extends to the Asia Pacific Region, where it is collaborating with the Asia Pacific Leaders Malaria Alliance (APLMA) on the Vector Control Platform for Asia Pacific (VCAP), a collaborative platform to improve access to new vector control tools.