Australia APVMA to approve Suterra's pheromone product Checkmate CRS

The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) is considering an application for registration of Suterra's product Checkmate CRS, a Slow Release Generator (SR) formulation containing 716 g/L (70 mg/dispenser) of the new active constituent, rescalure.

The active rescalure is a synthetic insect pheromone, identical to the sex pheromone produced by female Aonidiella aurantii Maskell (California red scale). Rescalure is non-toxic and acts by disruption of mating behaviour.

The product CheckMate CRS is proposed for the use in mating disruption of Aonidiella aurantii Maskell (California red scale) in citrus and any other crops where this species may be a pest. The product is intended for professional use and will be applied manually by hanging the dispensers from tree branches.

The APVMA Chemistry section has evaluated the chemistry of the rescalure active constituent and associated product CheckMate CRS including the manufacturing process, quality control procedures, stability data, batch analysis results and analytical methods, and found them to be acceptable. Based on a review of the chemistry and manufacturing details, the registration of CheckMate CRS and approval of the rescalure active constituent, are supported from a chemistry perspective.

The APVMA invites comment from 17 May 2022 to 14 June 2022 on whether approval of the active constituent and registration of the product should be granted.