BASF has received a recommendation from the World Health Organisation (WHO) for Interceptor G2, a long-lasting insecticide-treated mosquito net (LN) based on chlorfenapyr, a new insecticide class for combating mosquitoes for public health
This is the first WHO recommendation for a product based on a new insecticide class in more than 30 years.
Long-lasting insecticide-treated mosquito nets (LN) and indoor residual sprays are the cornerstones of malaria prevention, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. However, 60 countries have already reported resistance to at least one class of insecticide used in them. Part of the problem is that there were previously only four WHO recommended insecticide classes for adult mosquito control: only one of them, the pyrethroid class, was recommended for LNs. Continual use of the same insecticides enabled the highlyadaptable mosquito to develop significant levels of resistance.
Medical entomologist Professor Hilary Ranson from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine has studied the problem for many years. “We’ve got to take insecticide resistance very seriously,” she said. “In some countries, the local mosquito population has increased its level of resistance 1,000-fold. It has been years since a new class of public health insecticide has appeared on the market. Alternatives are urgently needed.”
BASF’s scientists have successfully repurposed chlorfenapyr to be effective on mosquito nets and meet stringent WHO performance thresholds for public health. The project was conducted in collaboration with the Innovative Vector Control Consortium (IVCC) and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.
IVCC technical manager Dave Malone said, “The collaboration with BASF gave us access to an insecticide with a rare combination of attributes: new to public health, effective against resistant mosquitoes, and able to coat polyester netting with a long-lasting formulation.”
Following the WHO recommendation, BASF will start preparations to launch Interceptor G2 for malaria prevention. Depending on local registration processes, the new mosquito net is expected to be available to health ministries and aid organizations starting towards the end of this year.
A second chlorfenapyr product, an indoor residual spray named Sylando 240SC, is also in the final phases of WHO evaluation.
