Bayer initiates field development of insecticide to fight malaria in Africa

Bayer CropScience recently signed research agreements to start field evaluations of new insecticidal solutions for malaria vector control at multiple locations in Africa. The company is confident that it can bring this innovation to market well before the end of this decade subject to regulatory approval, provided that preliminary data are confirmed in field trials.

While unprecedented progress has been achieved in malaria control during the past decade, reports of mosquito resistance to insecticides around the world place these gains at risk. In May 2012 and through consultation with stakeholders representing all constituencies of the malaria community, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched the "Global Plan for Insecticide Resistance Management in malaria vectors" (GPIRM). The plan urges affected countries and stakeholders to take immediate action to preserve the effectiveness of current vector control tools, but also to ensure that new public health insecticides with new modes of actions are made available.

"New, innovative vector control tools are needed urgently and there is a clearly defined role for private partners to invest in bringing new solutions to the market", said Dr. Gunnar Riemann, Member of the Executive Committee of Bayer CropScience and President of the Environmental Science Division. "We are responding to this call to action and I am pleased to see this mode of action, which is new to malaria vector control, entering field trials now", he explained. These field trials complement Bayer CropScience´s commitment in the Innovative Vector Control Consortium (IVCC) to improve public health by increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of the control of insects which transmit disease.

According to the GPIRM, vector control plays a critical role in the fight against malaria, but the continued success of indoor residual spraying and long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets is at risk from widespread insecticide resistance. It has now been reported in nearly two-thirds of countries with on-going malaria transmission, affecting all major vector species and all of the current four classes of insecticides. The availability of a new insecticidal mode of action, incorporated into a cost-effective product delivering high levels of performance could be a significant breakthrough in the global fight against malaria.