Oxitec Launches New Technology Program to Develop a Friendly™ Solution for the World's Most Damaging Cattle Tick

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May 24, 2023, 08:00 ET

With $4.8 million of new funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Oxitec will initiate development of a Friendly™ solution for the invasive Asian blue tick, Rhipicephalus microplus.
Oxitec's Friendly™ Cattle Tick Program team has conducted a successful feasibility phase, finding that development and future application of a Friendly™ solution for the world's most damaging blood-feeding cattle pest is highly achievable and anticipated to deliver future benefits to the world's cattle farmers.
R. microplus spreads deadly cattle diseases, causes billions of dollars of losses to farmers across the world and is widely resistant to chemical pesticides.

OXFORD, England, May 24, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Oxitec Ltd, the leading developer of insect-based biological solutions to control pests that transmit disease, destroy crops and harm livestock, today announced the launch of development of a targeted, biological Friendly™ solution for the world's most devastating cattle pest, the Asian blue tick, or Rhipicephalus microplus.

Oxitec receives funding to advance sustainable control of the invasive Asian blue tick, which threatens cattle and food security across the world.

In a feasibility project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Oxitec's team validated the key methods for development of a Friendly™ R. microplus, and found that, for management of this dangerous tick, this biological approach is anticipated to provide a highly effective alternative to chemical pesticides. The Foundation has now committed $4.8 million to an early development phase to start to build the Friendly™ R. microplus solution, Oxitec's first targeting a non-insect pest.

Launched in 2021, Oxitec's cattle tick program has conducted in-depth assessments of tick biology and genetics, assessed methods for development of a Friendly™ tick solution, artificial production methods, cattle management practices in regions threatened by R. microplus, and modelled the impact of future implementation on target tick populations. The results of this rigorous feasibility phase demonstrated that a future Friendly™ cattle tick solution could deliver highly effective R. microplus population suppression and that it represents a highly promising biological future alternative to chemical pesticides. This ground-breaking program will be conducted in collaboration with leading experts at one of the world's foremost livestock research organisations, the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh, Scotland.

The R. microplus tick blood-feeds on cattle, causing major losses in productivity and animal death by spreading deadly diseases such as babesiosis. Originally native to Asia, the invasive R. microplus is now widely distributed across Africa and Southern and Central America. R. microplus is widely regarded as the world's most important arthropod pest of cattle, costing the livestock industry and farmers billions of dollars each year. In Brazil alone this tick costs an estimated $3.2 billion in losses and management costs. Management of R. microplus is highly reliant on chemical acaricides (pesticides), to which the tick is widely resistant. New, sustainable tick management solutions are urgently needed.

Grey Frandsen, Oxitec's CEO, commented, "Oxitec is committed to deliver solutions that enable sustainable food production for a growing population on this changing planet, which is needed now more than ever to protect global food security. This new program is a significant milestone for Oxitec, enabling us to start building our first Friendly™ product targeting a non-insect pest. The Rhipicephalus microplus tick is a dangerous pest of cattle that threatens livelihoods across the world, and it's still spreading. More chemical pesticides aren't the answer. We're focused on stopping it in its tracks by translating Oxitec's proven, biological technology platform into a Friendly™ solution that offers a new level of impact against this tick, without harming the environment."

Kelly Matzen, Oxitec's Chief Technology Officer, added, "We're looking forward to starting work on development of the world's most sustainable tick management solution. I'm delighted that the results of our scientific feasibility program have demonstrated the promise of our Friendly™ platform to deliver impact against the world's most devastating tick pest of cattle. We're grateful for the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which will enable us to – in collaboration with the globally respected Roslin Institute – start to build an urgently needed Friendly™ tick solution to support livestock farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa and beyond."

About Oxitec

Oxitec is the leading developer of biological solutions to control pests that transmit disease, destroy crops and harm livestock. Founded in 2002 at the University of Oxford, Oxitec is led by a passionate team comprised of 15 nationalities and is supported by world-class public, private and non-profit partners.

Learn more at oxitec.com.

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SOURCE Oxitec