BASEL, Switzerland—Syngenta announced on Wednesday that a new insecticide active ingredient with a novel mode of action to address resistance in the control of malaria vectors is in its early development phase.
The new ingredient was a result of the collaboration between Syngenta and the Innovative Vector Control Consortium (IVCC) to identify and develop new lead areas of novel chemistry suitable for the control of vector mosquitoes. Syngenta and IVCC entered into the collaboration in 2009, the agriculture company said in a news release sent to the BusinessMirror.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that in 2016, there were 216 million malaria cases in over 90 countries around the world. Malaria is responsible for the death of around 445,000 people each year, and many of those impacted are smallholder farmers.
Research shows that when a smallholder is infected with malaria during harvest, crop yields fall by almost 50 percent and income can drop by 50 percent.
While yet to be eradicated from many countries, malaria is preventable and curable. Since 2010 improved prevention and control measures have led to a significant reduction in malaria mortality rates globally. Success was achieved primarily through the use of insecticide-treated bed-nets and indoor-residual sprays containing pyrethroid insecticides.
However, these reductions are under threat due to increasing insecticide resistance, reducing the overall effectiveness of vector-control programs
To meet this challenge, Syngenta, working with the IVCC, brought Actellic 300CS, a mosquito-control solution, to the market, the news release said.
In 2013 it received a formal recommendation for use by the WHO. It is estimated that in 2017 this long-lasting control product protected an estimated 34 million people in malaria endemic countries, Syngenta added.
Erik Fyrwald, Syngenta CEO, said: “With Actellic 300CS, we are achieving remarkable results, but we are fully aware that new solutions are required for sustainable vector control. Our joint effort with IVCC is to discover and develop these solutions, which can help to radically transform public health in regions where people live with the daily threat of malaria and to eradicate malaria by 2040.”