OXFORD, England, June 19, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --
Oxitec's first step
into global malaria vector control efforts in partnership with the
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Agreement covers the
first strain of Oxitec's
genetically-engineered mosquitoes
specifically designed to combat malaria
vector
Oxitec, Ltd. ("Oxitec"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Intrexon
Corporation (XON) (NYSE: XON), today
announced it is entering into a cooperative agreement with the Bill
& Melinda Gates Foundation ("BMGF") to develop a new strain of
Oxitec's self-limiting Friendly™ Mosquitoes to combat a mosquito
species that spreads malaria in the Western Hemisphere. The parties
will build on Oxitec's successful deployment of Friendly™ Aedes
mosquitoes to reduce the vector that spreads dengue, Zika and other
diseases and apply the self-limiting and male-selecting technology
to anopheline vectors that can spread malaria in endemic regions in
the Americas, eastern Africa and
South Asia.
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This collaboration will fund the development of a new
self-limiting Friendly™ Anopheles mosquito strain designed to
suppress wild malaria vector populations. This first Friendly™
Anopheles strain will build on the strengths of Oxitec's
self-limiting insect technology developed and tested over the last
decade, and transfer the skills and know-how into an anopheles
strain for use in vector control efforts to combat malaria.
"With the support and partnership of the Bill & Melinda
Gates Foundation, Oxitec is entering the fight against malaria with
a powerful, innovative vector control technology," said Grey
Frandsen, CEO of Oxitec. "We've built a strong, proven biological
engineering platform capable of developing self-limiting mosquito
strains that can be used to combat specific disease-spreading
species. We're now leveraging that platform to contribute to the
fight against mosquitoes that transmit malaria."
Oxitec will be using its new 2nd generation Friendly™
Mosquito technology to develop an Anopheles
albimanus strain to address one of the most
important vectors of malaria in the Americas. All of Oxitec's
Friendly™ Mosquito strains are designed to significantly reduce the
population of a targeted mosquito species in the wild without
impact on human or environmental health. Upon release into the
wild, Oxitec's 2nd generation male-selecting strains
mate with wild females, and only male offspring with a
self-limiting gene survive to adulthood. The female offspring from
these matings - only female mosquitoes bite - will die before
reaching adulthood. The surviving non-biting males subsequently
seek out and mate with more wild females and pass along the
self-limiting trait for up to ten generations before no longer
persisting in the environment. When deployed as part of an
integrated vector control program, this strain is anticipated to
dramatically reduce wild populations of this malaria-transmitting
mosquito species, while still ensuring Oxitec self-limiting
mosquitoes do not persist in the environment.
Philip Welkhoff, director of the malaria program at the Bill
& Melinda Gates Foundation, said, "Vector control has played a
critical role in reducing cases and deaths due to malaria over the
past 15 years. With further progress stalled at present, continued
innovation of new and transformational interventions is critical to
realizing the goal of a world free of malaria. Successful burden
reduction and elimination will require a range of technologies for
different geographies and challenges. Genetically-modified
mosquitoes are showing promise in controlling other vector-borne
diseases, so we look forward to exploring their use alongside
complementary interventions for malaria. Oxitec's work will
complement the foundation's investments in self-sustaining
genetically-modified mosquitoes for potential use in Africa."
"This is a fantastic example of how British innovation has the
ability to have a positive impact on thousands of lives around the
world," said Minister of State for the Department for International
Trade, Baroness Fairhead. "The Department for International Trade
will continue to support the ever-growing British life sciences
sector, and businesses such as Oxitec."
"Our first self-limiting mosquito has been studied for more than
ten years by independent researchers and governments around the
world. It has proven to be efficacious in the fight against
Aedes aegypti mosquitoes responsible for the spread
of Zika and dengue. Our team is thrilled to be using our knowledge
and experience toward developing a strain that can expand the role
of environmentally safe, species-specific biological solutions in
management of additional disease vectors, including this deal in
malaria control," said U.S. Army Lieutenant General (Retired)
Thomas Bostick, PhD, PE, Intrexon's
Chief Operating Officer.
Oxitec has developed a proven track record with its first
self-limiting Friendly™ Mosquito, OX513A, which was designed to
control Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. OX513A has been released
and evaluated for effectiveness in multiple countries worldwide,
where it has been successful in achieving significant vector
suppression levels that outperform traditional methods. OX513A has
been granted approvals and endorsements from a range of national
and international bodies, including: regulatory approvals in
Brazil; an interim recommendation
from the World Health Organization Vector Control Advisory Group
for use in pilot projects to combat Zika; the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration's "Finding of No Significant Impact" for the use of
OX513A in the U.S.; and a positive technical report for use of
OX513A from the National Institute of Public Health and the
Environment (RIVM) in the
Netherlands.
Releases of Oxitec's first self-limiting, male-selecting
mosquito, the OX5034O Friendly™ Aedes mosquito, were launched in
Indaiatuba, Brazil in May 2018, after receiving approval for a Planned
Release into the Environment Permit (LPMA) by CTNBio (Brazil's National Technical Biosafety
Commission) in August 2017.
More on how male-selecting Friendly™ Mosquitoes
work
Oxitec has been working in mosquito control for over a decade
and pioneered the use of a biological method to suppress wild
populations of dangerous mosquito species through the release of
male Friendly™ Mosquitoes, which do not bite and do not transmit
diseases. When released, these males search for wild females to
mate and their offspring inherit a self-limiting gene that causes
either all progeny or specifically the female progeny to die before
reaching adulthood, based on the strain of mosquito. Friendly™
Mosquitoes offspring also inherit a fluorescent marker that allows
tracking and monitoring at a level never before achieved, making
the assessment of effectiveness more accurate throughout the whole
Friendly™ Mosquitoes deployment program. Unlike other approaches,
Friendly™ Mosquitoes do not persist in the environment or leave any
ecological footprint.
About Oxitec
Oxitec is a pioneer in using genetic engineering to control
insect pests that spread disease and damage crops, and was founded
in 2002 as a spinout from Oxford
University (UK). Oxitec is a subsidiary of Intrexon
Corporation (XON) (NYSE: XON), which engineers biology
to help solve some of the world's biggest problems. Follow us on
Twitter at @Oxitec, on Facebook, and LinkedIn.
About Intrexon Corporation
Intrexon Corporation (XON) (NYSE: XON) is Powering
the Bioindustrial Revolution with Better DNA™ to create
biologically-based products that improve the quality of life and
the health of the planet. The company's integrated technology
suite provides its partners across diverse markets with
industrial-scale design and development of complex biological
systems delivering unprecedented control, quality, function, and
performance of living cells. We call our synthetic biology
approach Better DNA®, and we invite you to discover more
at http://www.dna.com or follow us on Twitter
at @Intrexon, on Facebook, and LinkedIn.
Safe Harbor Statement
Some of the statements made in this press release are
forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are
based upon our current expectations and projections about future
events and generally relate to our plans, objectives and
expectations for the development of our business. Although
management believes that the plans and objectives reflected in or
suggested by these forward-looking statements are reasonable, all
forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and
actual future results may be materially different from the plans,
objectives and expectations expressed in this press release.
For more information, contact:
Oxitec Contact UK:
Michael Jooste
Director, Global Communications
Tel: +1-(206)-889-4253
info@oxitec.com
Intrexon Contact:
Investor Contact:
Thomas Shrader, PhD
Vice President, Communications & Strategy
investors@intrexon.com
Corporate Contact:
Marie Rossi, PhD
Director, Technical Communications
Tel: +1-(301)-556-9850
publicrelations@intrexon.com