Oxitec

Oxitec
Industry Biotechnology, Pest Control
Founded Oxford, United Kingdom (2002 (2002))
Key people
  • Hadyn Parry (CEO)

,[1] Luke Alphey (Founder)

Website oxitec.com

Oxitec (orig. Oxford Insect Technologies) is a British biotechnology company which develops genetically modified insects to assist in insect control. The company develops methods for control of insect populations, in which genetically modified insects are used as a "living insecticide". Thereby, insects which transmit disease to humans or which occur as pests in agriculture are controlled without the use of insecticides. According to the company, this method of population control is more effective than insecticides and more environmentally friendly.[2] The method has similarities to the sterile insect technique (sterile insect technique).

History

Oxitec was started in 2002 by Oxford University's Isis Innovation technology transfer company.[1][3] In August 2015 Oxitec was purchased by U.S.-based Intrexon Corp in a deal valued at $160 million.[4]

Transgenic yellow fever mosquito

Oxitec is working to develop a genetic modified version of Aedes aegypti to help control the transmission of mosquito borne diseases.[5][6] Oxitec has created genetically altered males of the species (OX513A) that produce the protein tTA, which negatively affects cell development. The transgenic animals need the antibiotic tetracycline to survive. If these animals are released in large numbers and mate with females, the antibiotic dependence is passed to the next generation and the offsprings die. Thus, the Aedes aegypti mosquito population is greatly reduced and thereby the risk for the people in that region to contract a disease borne by that mosquito species.[7][8]

Field trials

First field trials were performed on Grand Cayman, the largest island of the Cayman Islands, supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, starting in 2009. Approximately 3.3 million of the transgenic male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes were released. The experiments demonstrated that the animals were able to survive in this environment and produce offspring. Some eleven weeks after the release a decline in the Aedes aegypti, mosquito population by about 80% was observed. Larger-scale releases could possibly result in even higher reductions. The tests were deemed a success by scientists, at the same time criticism on the communication policy has been voiced.[9] In 2011 another field test took place in Brazil in cooperation with the company Moscamed and the University of São Paulo, in which again transgenic Aedes aegypti mosquitoes were released in large numbers and the mosquitoes were reduced by 80-95%.[10][11] More field trials were carried out in Malaysia and Panama.[12][13] Another field trial is planned in Florida.[14] In 2016 the World Health Organisation encouraged field trials of transgenic male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes to try to halt the spread of the Zika virus.[15]

Authorization

OX513A was approved by the Brazil's National Biosecurity Technical Commission (CTNBio) in April 2014[16] and it was being used to try to combat the Zika virus in the town of Piracicaba, São Paulo in 2016.[17]

Brazil’s health-regulatory agency, Anvisa, declared on 12 April 2016 that it would regulate Oxitec’s mosquitoes. Anvisa announced that it was creating a legal framework for regulations. It requested Oxitec to demonstrate that its technology is safe and can reduce the transmission of mosquito-borne viruses.[18]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Cookson, Clive (23 April 2015). "‘Lethal gene’ to combat malaria relies on laws of attraction". Financial Times. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  2. ↑ The Oxitec approach. Oxitech
  3. ↑ Solon, Olivia (25 April 2012). "Oxford academics tentatively embrace startup culture". Wired UK. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  4. ↑ Nickel, Rod (15 September 2015). "Market turbulence or not, North American investors plow into farm tech". Reuters. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  5. ↑ Free, Stephen (16 May 2015). "Can genetically modified mosquitoes curb Dengue fever?". PBS NewsHour. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  6. ↑ Jennings, Christian (28 April 2015). "Mosquitoes Really Do Prefer Some People to Others, Say Scientists". Newsweek. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  7. ↑ Subbaraman, Nidhi (2011-01-01). "Science snipes at Oxitec transgenic-mosquito trial". Nature Biotechnology 29 (1): 9–11. doi:10.1038/nbt0111-9a. ISSN 1087-0156.
  8. ↑ Julia Paoli: Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Pave the Way for Dengue Fever Prevention, Nature Publishing Group, 15 September 2014
  9. ↑ Nidhi Subbaraman: Science snipes at Oxitec transgenic-mosquito trial. In: Nature Biotechnology 29, 2011, S. 9–11.
  10. ↑ Carvalho, Danilo; et al. (2 July 2015). "Suppression of a Field Population of Aedes aegypti in Brazil by Sustained Release of Transgenic Male Mosquitoes". PLOS. doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0003864.
  11. ↑ Michael Specter: Can genetic modification eliminate a deadly tropical disease? The New Yorker, 9 July 2012
  12. ↑ "Oxitec’s Genetically Modified Mosquitoes: A Credible Approach to Dengue Fever?" (PDF). March 2015.
  13. ↑ "Panama trial begins".
  14. ↑ "Preliminary Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) In Support of an Investigational Field Trial of OX513A Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes" (PDF). US FDA. March 2016. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  15. ↑ Kelland, Kate (18 March 2016). "WHO backs trials of genetically modified mosquitoes to fight Zika". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
  16. ↑ Tracy Thompson: Oxitec’s solution for controlling the dengue mosquito is approved by CTNBio. Oxitech, 11 April 2014
  17. ↑ Pollack, Andrew (30 January 2016). "New Weapon to Fight Zika: The Mosquito". New York Times. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
  18. ↑ Lopes, Reinaldo Jose (22 April 2016). "Why transgenic insects are still not ready for prime time". Nature News & Comment. Retrieved 2016-04-22.

External links


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