New tools are needed to tackle mosquito transmission that occurs outside in outdoor settings, where existing malaria vector control interventions offer limited protection.
To help address this challenge, IVCC has signed a contract with Molecular Attraction, a Swedish biotech company developing pest control solutions using semiochemicals (chemical signals that influence insect behaviour), to launch a new project exploring pheromone-based approaches to outdoor mosquito control. The project was selected following IVCC’s call for proposals seeking innovative tools to address gaps in the malaria vector control toolbox, and forms part of IVCC’s outdoor biting control pillar.
To mark the start of the partnership, the IVCC team recently travelled to Sweden to meet with the Molecular Attraction team, including Dr Lech Ignatowicz, Chief Executive Officer; Prof Noushin Emami, Founder and Chief Scientific Officer; Dr Carina Olivera, Partnership Manager; and Dr Agustin Costa, Mass Spec Scientist.
The team toured the laboratories and mosquito rearing facilities, gaining a first-hand view of the research and development work that will underpin the project.
Discussions continued throughout the day, including during a traditional Swedish fika, a cultural practice centred around coffee and cake, where partners reviewed plans and discussed upcoming activities.
Later in the afternoon, the teams were joined virtually by colleagues from the Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé (IRSS) in Burkina Faso, who will lead the field components of the project.
The visit was an important first step for the collaboration, bringing partners together as the project gets underway.
