OXFORD, England, Nov. 28, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Oxitec, Ltd, a
UK-based biotechnology company that pioneered the use of
biologically-engineered insects for control of disease-spreading
Aedes aegypti mosquitoes and crop-destroying agricultural
pests, announced today it will be transitioning from its
1st generation self-limiting Friendly™ Aedes
aegypti mosquito (also known as "OX513A") to a new Friendly™
Aedes mosquito ("OX5034") that uses Oxitec's 2nd
generation technology, allowing the company to focus on advancing
its entire mosquito and crop pest portfolios using this
next-generation platform. This transition comes after a decade of
experience with Oxitec's 1st generation self-limiting
Friendly™ Mosquito and after investments made to engineer new core
features specifically designed to provide a range of additional
benefits for end-users in vector control and agriculture.
The core technical advances of the 2nd generation
technology rest on biological engineering to make Oxitec's insects
both male-selecting and self-limiting, a combination of features
unavailable in other insect control technologies. Upon the
mating of an Oxitec 2nd generation male insect with a
wild-type female target insect, the female progeny die
(male-selecting), generating near-term suppression effects. At the
same time, male progeny survive, half of which carry the
self-limiting gene while the other half carry natural
insecticide-susceptibility genes. The self-limiting trait decreases
in each subsequent generation of males until it no longer persists
in the environment.
These dual technical advancements unlock a range of performance
and operational benefits. Oxitec anticipates improvements in pest
suppression, as every release of its 2nd generation
insect is designed to provide a multi-generational but
self-limiting suppression effect. The projected result is a larger
impact per released insect, allowing for both greater
cost-effectiveness and higher rates of pest control.
Oxitec's 2nd generation technology also introduces
the potential for countering the growing spread of insecticide
resistance in target insect pest populations, making it ideal for
use within integrated pest management programs. As a result,
end-users of Oxitec's 2nd generation insects may be able
to simultaneously extend the life of existing chemical control
tools while reducing the amount of insecticides necessary for
effective suppression.
Operationally, this technology is designed to enable further
scalability and cost-savings to end-users. Because Oxitec's
2nd generation technology prevents females from
surviving, it eliminates the risk of releasing female insects,
thereby eliminating the need for sex-sorting in the manufacturing
process. This solves for what is typically one of the most
significant cost-drivers and operationally-challenging requirements
for self-limiting insect technologies.
"We've gone from the equivalent of the original Model T car –
innovative and groundbreaking in its day – to a self-driving
electric car in just a few years. We broke the mold with the first
release of genetically engineered mosquitoes in 2010, and we're now
proud to once again advance our next generation of self-limiting
insect technology designed to solve for the precise challenges of
cost, safe and targeted suppression, and insecticide resistance
facing agricultural and disease-spreading insect control globally
in the coming decades," said Grey Frandsen, Oxitec's CEO.
In the case of Oxitec's 2nd generation Friendly™
Aedes aegypti mosquito, continued investment in new
deployment modalities using 2nd generation features
could eliminate need for adult mosquito rearing facilities
entirely.
"The transition to Oxitec's 2nd generation technology
represents the combination of continued investment in cutting-edge
science and the wealth of knowledge Oxitec has gained after more
than a decade of deploying its 1st generation technology
in mosquitoes," said Intrexon's Chief Operating Officer LTG (Ret.)
Thomas Bostick, PhD,
PE.
Oxitec also recently launched a multi-year program to develop
two 2nd generation strains to combat two mosquito
species that transmit malaria. For those countries where Oxitec is
seeking regulatory approval for its 1st generation
Aedes aegypti mosquito, the applications will be replaced
with applications for its 2nd generation Aedes
aegypti mosquito. Oxitec is already piloting its 2nd
generation Aedes aegypti mosquito in Brazil after securing regulatory approval for
field releases there. Oxitec plans to submit an Experimental Use
Permit for its 2nd generation Aedes aegypti
mosquito to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the coming
months.
About Oxitec's Second Generation Technology
Oxitec's
2nd generation technology represents a significant set
of advancements from its 1st generation technology but
it retains characteristics of its 1st generation
technology, which has passed stringent environmental, human, and
animal safety evaluations. The 2nd generation
platform provides targeted, single-species control with no known
negative side-effects on other species and includes built-in
biosecurity with self-limiting genetics that do not persist in the
environment. It does not require, like other technologies,
radiation or the use of bacteria that could establish itself in the
environment.
Oxitec's 2nd generation insect technology uses two
small genetic modifications to create self-limiting, non-biting
insects that are male-selecting (only male progeny survive from
mating with a wild-type female insect). Upon the mating between an
engineered Oxitec male insect and a wild-type female target insect,
the female progeny die, generating near-term suppression effects.
The male progeny survive, half of which carry the self-limiting
gene while the other half carry natural insecticide-susceptibility
genes. In subsequent generations, the self-limiting gene is diluted
via a Mendelian pattern – enabling population suppression for up to
10 subsequent generations before the introduced genes are
eliminated from the environment. The 2nd generation
insects also contain a fluorescent marker similar to the
1st generation, allowing for easier monitoring and
performance measurement.
The 2nd generation insect strains are built on
natural genetic backgrounds chosen for their susceptibility to
insecticides. From the portion of non-genetically engineered males
that survive, natural wild-type genes are introduced into the
target pest population and help dilute the number of
insecticide-resistant target pests.
Operationally, Oxitec's 2nd generation Aedes
aegypti technology has the potential to be used in new
egg-based release modalities. These may help mosquito control
districts and public health agencies, as well as commercial pest
control operators or private users, employ the technology with ease
while allowing Oxitec to pass on cost savings and quality control
benefits of scaling egg production in centralized hubs that can
serve customers worldwide.
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 the University of Oxford (UK). Oxitec is a subsidiary
of Intrexon Corporation (NASDAQ: XON), which engineers biology to
help solve some of the world's biggest problems. Follow us on
Twitter at @Oxitec.
About Intrexon Corporation
Intrexon Corporation
(NASDAQ: 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 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:
Michael Jooste
Director of Global Communications
Tel: +1 (253) 678 0074
communications@oxitec.com
|
Intrexon
Contact:
Marie Rossi,
PhD
Vice President,
Communications
Tel: +1 (301)
556-9850
publicrelations@dna.com
|
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