Press release – date issued 15th March 2023.
IVCC is delighted to share the news that the VECTRON™ T500, a new indoor residual spray product, developed by Mitsui Chemicals Agro containing TENEBENAL™ has had its evaluation completed by the WHO Pre-Qualification vector control assessment team and has now achieved Pre-Qualifcation listing. VECTRON™ T500 represents the world’s first meta-diamide active ingredient (IRAC Group 30), with a different mode of action from existing vector control products.
WHO Pre-Qualification is an important pre-requisite supporting the adoption of VECTRON™ T500 for malaria indoor residual spraying programmes. The availability of this novel mode of action allows more choice in 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. We would also like to acknowledge the important role that the WHO Pre-Qualification Unit plays in ensuring that products such as these are thoroughly assessed for efficacy, safety and quality in readiness for their availability for malaria prevention programmes . Solutions such as VECTRON™ T500 provide a means 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 at the 18th Annual Meeting of the Vector Control Working Group (VCWG) 3rd February 2023IVCC is delighted to take part in the upcoming Annual Meeting of the Vector Control Working Group (VCWG) in Accra, Ghana, from 6th to 8th 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 (8th 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 6th 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 6th 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 7th 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).
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.
IVCC attends UK parliamentary launch of the WHO’s 2022 World Malaria Report 16th December 2022Earlier 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.
How to make the most of VERV to encourage pesticide development, and prevent vector born diseases 1st February 2023The 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.
Tech Update Winter 2023 31st January 2023