IVCC is delighted to announce that WHO-GMP has issued a strong policy recommendation for pyrethroid-chlorfenapyr nets to be deployed for malaria prevention instead of pyrethroid-only nets in areas with pyrethroid resistance. Pyrethroid-chlorfenapyr nets, such as the Interceptor® G2 manufactured by BASF, combine a pyrethroid and a pyrrole active ingredient to enhance the killing effect of the net compared to standard nets.

Epidemiological trials carried out over a 24-month period, in Tanzania (funded by the Wellcome Trust) and Benin (funded by Unitaid and the Global Fund as part of the New Nets Project) demonstrated that Interceptor^® G2 nets reduced malaria incidence by 44%^[1] to 46% ^[2] when compared with standard, pyrethroid-only nets. Results from these trials were used by WHO to recognise the public health value of this new product against malaria.

The research to support these findings was conducted by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), National Institute for Medical Research, Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College, and the University of Ottawa and the Centre de Recherche Entomologique de Cotonou (CREC).

The collaboration between BASF and IVCC has delivered a next generation active ingredient treated net formulation that fights insecticide resistant mosquitoes. Interceptor® G2, combines a new to public health active ingredient, a pyrrole (chlorfenapyr), with a pyrethroid (alphacypermethrin), representing a novel mode of action in vector control and a first in 30 years.

“IVCC has a long-standing relationship with BASF; particularly when it comes to development of Interceptor® G2.  We are pleased to have played a core role, alongside our partners, in early product development, field testing, and global access strategy for this important new malaria prevention tool. This milestone is also testament to the importance of product-development and other partnerships to deliver high-impact, cost-effective prevention tools that are adapted to the needs of endemic countries,” says Justin McBeath, IVCC CEO.

The New Nets Project (NNP), an IVCC-led consortium of partners, funded by Unitaid and The Global Fund, piloted the use of Interceptor^® G2 nets in areas of moderate to high transmission throughout sub-Saharan Africa. The nets were first deployed in Burkina Faso in 2019, followed by an additional twenty countries from 2020 to 2023.

Over the course of four years, the project added to the necessary evidence base to support a WHO policy recommendation and assessed the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the new nets under programmatic conditions to help inform country decision making. Evidence generated during pilot deployment has mirrored the trial results, demonstrating the superior effectiveness of the Interceptor ^® G2 compared to standard nets.

“We are pleased with the recommendation by the WHO for pyrethroid-chlofenapyr nets. Interceptor® G2 nets are making a significant contribution to prevent and fight against malaria. The partnership and commitment of all New Nets Project partners are key to bring innovations to regions where they demonstrate a public health value. This motivates us once again to continue developing new tools and products to reduce the burden of malaria to communities fighting insecticide resistance”, says Achim Reddig, Director of BASF Global Public Health.

The catalytic market shaping work under NNP to increase supply and demand have laid the foundation for ensuring equitable and affordable access to novel vector control products.  This was enhanced by the joint work of UK-based social finance company MedAccess and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation who supported access to Interceptor® G2 nets in 20+ countries by providing a volume guarantee that enabled BASF to reduce the price procurers pay for the nets.

“Unitaid and the Global Fund played a critical role in supporting the catalytic introduction of these new bed nets, working with partners to bring down costs, increase demand, and prove the efficacy and effectiveness of this powerful new malaria-fighting tool. We are delighted to see our massive partnership effort delivering such a vital addition to the vector control toolbox, helping to combat insecticide resistance and ensure effective protection from malaria for millions of people every year.” – Dr Philippe Duneton, Executive Director of Unitaid.

“This shows how we can accelerate impact by embracing innovation,” said Peter Sands, Executive Director of the Global Fund. “The issuance of policy guidance by WHO is critical to influencing broad uptake of the new nets and to combat growing insecticide resistance across Africa, where nearly all malaria infections and related deaths occur.”

The combined evidence built by the NNP, along with the WHO recommendation, provides countries with a state-of-the-art tool as they make decisions about how best to spend their malaria control budgets.

During the New Nets Project, Disease Control Technologies’ (DCT) RoyalGuard® pyriproxyfen-pyrethroid nets were also tested. Based on the evidence available, WHO-GMP has issued a conditional recommendation for the use of this class of net compared to standard, pyrethroid-only nets. Lower net use in the RoyalGuard® groups in epidemiological trials could have contribute to the reduced impact of these nets. More research is needed to fully understand the results.

The epidemiological studies will report additional data once the 36-month period is reached and combined with New Net Pilot evidence pilots across 5 countries, will continue to contribute to the understanding of Interceptor® G2 and RoyalGuard® product performance over time and across various endemicities and resistance profiles.

—-ends—

^[1]Mosha JF, Kulkarni MA. et al. Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness against malaria of three types of dual active-ingredient long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) compared with pyrethroidonly LLINs in Tanzania: a four-arm, cluster-randomised trial, 2022; 399, 10331: 1227-1241.

^[2]Accrombessi M, Cook J. et al. Efficacy of pyriproxyfen-pyrethroid long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) and chlorfenapyr-pyrethroid LLINs compared with pyrethroid-only LLINs for malaria control in Benin: a cluster-randomised, superiority trial, 2023 (Online first).

Read the New Nets Project partner releases:

Global Fund and Unitaid Welcome WHO Recommendation for Insecticide-treated Nets With Dual Active Ingredients (Global Fund and Unitaid press release)

WHO recommends new malaria nets based on research by LSHTM and partners (LSHTM press release)

MedAccess welcomes WHO recommendation for chlorfenapyr-pyrethroid mosquito nets (MedAccess news item)

For further information contact:

Laura Roberts, Communications Manager

laura.roberts@ivcc.com

(+44) 07849 700582

Product and Project information

Interceptor® G2

Interceptor® G2 is a second-generation ITN developed by BASF with a combination of chlorfenapyr and alpha-cypermethrin to control insecticide resistant mosquitoes. This novel mode of action in vector control exploits mosquito enzymatic systems against themselves and shows no cross-resistance to other insecticide classes. Unlike pyrethroids, the chlorfenapyr target site of activity is not the insect nervous system. Instead, chlorfenapyr acts, after being metabolized by P450 enzymes at the cellular level, by disrupting respiratory pathways and proton gradients through the uncoupling of oxidative phosphorylation within the mitochondria. The Interceptor® G2 net has a WHO prequalification listing.  Previously the net was evaluated and given an interim recommendation by the 20th WHOPES Working Group.

Royal Guard®

Royal Guard® is an ITN developed by Disease Control Technologies to provide vector control through both the personal protection of traditional mosquito knockdown and mortality, as well as a reduction in fecundity of any mosquitoes that manage to survive exposure to the products pyrethroid active ingredient. The intended benefit of the insect growth regulator, pyriproxyfen, is to reduce the fecundity of adult female mosquitoes and, therefore, yield an overall reduction in the vector population by inhibiting egg laying, larval-pupal transformation and the emergence of functioning young adult mosquitos. The Royal Guard® net has a WHO prequalification listing.

The New Nets Project (NNP)

The Global Fund and Unitaid are each investing US$33 million between 2018 to 2022 to introduce new insecticide-treated nets to fight malaria-carrying mosquitoes. The New Nets Project is working to build the evidence base around, and prime the market for, the next generation of nets, which are treated with two different types of insecticide to help improve control of mosquitoes.

The project will generate evidence on the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of the new dual insecticide nets to inform a WHO policy decision on dual-AI nets and guide decision-making around product procurement at the country level. It is expected that the New Nets Project – with its unique design of parallel collection of epidemiological data and cost-effectiveness studies – will significantly reduce the timeline for entry of the new nets into the market.

The U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are key operational and financial partners. A coalition led by IVCC is implementing the project which includes The Alliance for Malaria Prevention, Imperial College London, The Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, PATH, PSI and Tulane University.

IVCC

IVCC is the only Product Development Partnership (PDP) working in vector control. IVCC was established in 2005, through an initial $50million grant to the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and has since provided ongoing support for IVCC activities.  As a registered charity in the UK, IVCC is also funded by UK Aid, USAID and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation to work with stakeholders to facilitate the development of novel and improved public health insecticides and formulations to combat the rapidly growing problem of insecticide resistance.  In addition, IVCC is also funded by Unitaid and the Global Fund to implement catalytic market access projects, such as NgenIRS and the New Nets Project which support the rapid and scaled deployment of innovative vector control interventions.  IVCC brings together partners from industry, the public sector and academia to create new solutions to prevent disease transmission. By focusing resources and targeting practical scientific solutions we accelerate the process from innovation to impact.

Image credit: PSI, Mali. 

Press release – date issued 15th March 2023.

IVCC is delighted to share the news that Mitsui Chemicals Agro has achieved the WHO prequalification of VECTRON™ T500, a new indoor residual spray product. VECTRON™ T500, developed by Mitsui Chemicals Agro, contains TENEBENAL™, the world’s first meta-diamide active ingredient (IRAC Group 30), which has a different mode of action from existing vector control products.

VECTRON™ T500 will support the rotation of insecticides in line with best practice insecticide resistance management, which is critical to preserve the long-term efficacy of vector control tools. VECTRON™ T500 has outstanding efficacy against malaria vector mosquitoes including strains and populations resistant to pyrethroids and some other insecticides. It works on a variety of types of wall surfaces, including mud, and shows long residual efficacy.  VECTRON™ T500 is a non-repellent, odourless and stainless formulation with low mammalian acute toxicity, and is supplied in easy-to-handle 50g aluminum sachets.

Mitsui Chemicals Agro will launch VECTRON™ T500 in sub-Saharan African countries in 2023 in line with locally required conditions of use.

Justin McBeath, CEO of IVCC added: “We would like to congratulate Mitsui Chemical Agro on achieving WHO prequalification of this important product. The availability of such tools will help to better manage insecticide resistance – which is one of the biggest threats to achieving the goal of malaria elimination.  IVCC was established with a mission to work with partners such as Mitsui Chemicals Agro to accelerate the availability of new public health insecticides.  We are delighted to have continued to deliver on our mission by providing support to Mitsui Chemicals Agro on this journey, which represents such a significant milestone in the fight against malaria.”

President & CEO of Mitsui Chemicals Agro said: “Mitsui Chemicals Agro is an R&D driven chemical company, that has been developing malaria vector control products to save human lives. Our mission is to provide solutions to health challenges through the development and deployment of innovative, high-quality products. We are committed to malaria eradication and are excited about the launch of VECTRON^™ T500. We appreciate the support of all our stakeholders and partners including IVCC in reaching this important milestone.”

IRS village trial in Lagos, Nigeria. Photographed by IVCC.

Notes to Editors

IVCC

IVCC is the only Product Development Partnership (PDP) working in vector control. IVCC was established in 2005, through an initial $50 million grant to the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and has since provided ongoing support for IVCC activities.  As a registered charity in the UK, IVCC is also funded by UK Aid, USAID and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation to work with stakeholders to facilitate the development of novel and improved public health insecticides and formulations to combat the rapidly growing problem of insecticide resistance.  In addition, IVCC is also funded by Unitaid and the Global Fund to implement catalytic market access projects, such as NgenIRS and the New Nets Project which support the rapid and scaled deployment of innovative vector control interventions.  IVCC brings together partners from industry, the public sector and academia to create new solutions to prevent disease transmission. By focusing resources and targeting practical scientific solutions we accelerate the process from innovation to impact.

Mitsui Chemicals Agro, Inc.

Mitsui Chemicals Agro is an R&D driven company that is a global provider of solutions by high-quality products and services in the agrochemicals field. The company has a history of about 100 years beginning with the manufacture and release of the first synthetic agrochemical in Japan. Mitsui Chemicals Agro has been contributing human health and comfortable life through PPM (Professional Pest Management) business, providing unique active ingredients and formulated products. Mitsui Chemicals Agro is 100% subsidiary of Mitsui Chemicals (Tokyo: 4183, ISIN: JP3888300005) which has an annual sale of 1,612 billion yen in the fiscal year ending March 2022.

You can find Mitsui’s press release here.

Featured image photographed by Mitsui Chemicals Agro.

IVCC is delighted to take part in the upcoming Annual Meeting of the Vector Control Working Group (VCWG) in Accra, Ghana, from 6^th to 8^th February.

To find out about the work of IVCC, its partnerships and its pipeline of innovative vector control solutions, visit the IVCC booth throughout the conference.

The IVCC-led New Nets Project (NNP) pilots new tools to strengthen the insecticide-treated net (ITN) market. At VCWG, there is a dedicated NNP side event where project partners* will present the results from the NNP pilot evaluations (Burkina Faso, Mozambique, Nigeria, and Rwanda) and discuss the comparative impact and cost-effectiveness of dual-AI ITNs in various malaria-endemic settings. The event will feature a concluding panel discussion where presenters and additional NNP partners will reflect on how things have changed since the start of the NNP (e.g., net market, evidence base, WHO PQ and guidance, and modelling projections), what the legacy of the NNP will be for future ITN campaigns and data collection, and where the larger malaria and vector control communities go from here.

New Nets Project Results and Future Considerations (8^th February, 11:00 to 12:30 GMT, Ballroom 1 &2). For a full event description, agenda and list of speakers, download the detailed agenda for the side event. Lunch will be available.

There are other opportunities to hear about the NNP project and dual AI nets throughout VCWG:

Enhancing the Impact of Core Interventions, Monday 6^th February

Durability testing of the bioefficacy of dual active ingredient ITNs, durability methods, and data from dual AI ITN monitoring (presented by Corine Ngufor, CREC, and Jackline Martin, KCMU/NIMR, 14:10 to 14:40, Session 1).

Physical and insecticidal durability of dual active ingredient and PBO ITNs: Results from 24-month surveys (presented by Medard Rukaari, UMU/ NMCP Uganda, 15:15 to 15:25, Session 2).

Sub-lethal exposure to chlorfenapyr kills Plasmodium parasites in surviving insecticide-resistant Anopheles mosquitoes (presented by Pie Muller, Swiss TPH, 17:18 to 17:26, Task Team 2, Session 4)

Estimating the malaria prevention impact of dual active ingredient insecticide-treated nets: Results from the New Nets Project pilot evaluations (presented by Joe Wagman, PATH, 17:26 to 17:39, Task Team 2, Session 4).

Posters:

P014: Impact of next-generation dual-active ingredient long-lasting insecticidal net deployment in Tanzania on insecticide resistance in Anopheles funestus s.l. and Anopheles gambiae s.l. (Louisa Messenger, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, USA)

As well as the focus onNNP, there are other of opportunities to catch up with the work of the wider IVCC portfolio, including work on VECTRON™ T500, currently under assessment by WHO-PQT/VCP:

Oral Presentations:

Enhancing the Impact of Core Interventions, Monday 6^th February

Task Team 2: Addressing biological threats; new insecticides for vector control (for IRS and ITNs)

Non-inferiority experimental hut and community (Phase III) cluster randomized indoor residual spraying evaluation trials of Vectron™ T500 against malaria vectors in Tanzania (presented by Njelembo Mbewe, LSHTM / KCMUCo, and Patrik Tungu, NIMR, Session 4, 17:05  to 17:18)

Expanding the Vector Control Toolbox, Tuesday 7^th February

Task Team 2: Innovations in vector control and vector surveillance

Closing the Gap (presented by Jason Richardson, IVCC, Session 1, 08:05 to 08:20)

Task Team 3: Anthropology and human centred design (interface between vector control and human behaviour)

Over-spraying in IRS trials: a real or imagined problem for IRS assessment? (presented by Mark Rowland, LSHTM, 09:45 to 09:55).

Posters:

P025: Crystalline insecticides and their presentation in VC products (Svetlana Ryazanskaya, IVCC).

Find out more about 18th VCWG annual meeting online, including the full conference programme, the event’s sponsors, and exhibitors.

N.B. all times shown are given in GMT, the local time zone in Accra.

*NNP implementation partners are: The Alliance for Malaria Prevention, Imperial College London, LSTM, LSTMH, PATH, PSI and Tulane University. NNP Industry partners are: BASF and DCT (Disease Control Technologies). NNP Funding partners are: Unitaid and The Global Fund. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, along with USAID and MedAccess are supporting partners. Image credit: PSI, Mali.

Earlier this week, Malaria No More UK and the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases, brought together a panel of experts and political leaders to discuss the recently launched 2022 World Health Organisation (WHO) Malaria Report.

Andrew Mitchell (MP), Secretary of State for International Development of the United Kingdom, opened the event, where he spoke about his advocacy for universal health coverage and the importance of vector control tools in the fight to end malaria. A panel discussion followed, with contributions from Dr Alastair Robb (contributor to the 2022 Malaria Report), Prof. Azra Ghani (Imperial College London), Serena Muki (Malaria No More Ambassador) and Catherine West MP. Key messages from the event are summarised in this twitter thread by Zero Malaria UK.

This week also, Baroness Liz Sugg addressed the UK House of Lords to highlight the findings of the 2022 WHO World Malaria Report and urged the government to stay committed to a thriving research and development pipeline. Watch the address via this link.

Image credit: Malaria No More UK.

The signing of the Vector Expedited Review Voucher (VERV) into US Law at the end of 2022 was a major step forward for vector-borne disease control.

Now, in a newly published article in Health Affairs, Prof. Jeff Moe (Duke University and IVCC consultant) and his co-authors discuss the next steps for the EPA, product developers, and Congress to make the VERV programme a success and save lives.

The VERV programme has been championed by IVCC following a policy proposal by Duke University.

Click this link to read the article.