BASF۪s Crop Protection Division Helps Develop New Mosquito Net

Mosquito resistance has risen since the introduction of the first treated mosquito nets, which contained a single class of chemistry–pyrethroid.

BASF has received a recommendation from the World Health Organization (WHO) for Interceptor G2, a long-lasting insecticide-treated mosquito net (LN) based on chlorfenapyr.

Chlorofenapyr has been used by farmers for years, but this is the first time it will be used in the institutional public health sector and follows the first WHO recommendation for a new insecticide class in more than three decades.

Development of the new mosquito net took more than 10 years and involved scientists collaborating on three continents.  

Inceptor G2 mosquito nets treated with chlorofenapyr introduces a completely different mode of action into the equation, helping beat back malaria-carrying mosquitos.

Chlorfenapyr is a completely 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.

Working with the Innovative Vector Control Consortium (IVCC) and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine in a collaboration lasting over a decade, BASF’s scientists successfully repurposed chlorfenapyr to be effective on mosquito nets and meet stringent WHO performance thresholds for public health.

Around the world, every two minutes a child dies from malaria and there are more than 200 million new cases every year. Malaria is also a major cause of global poverty and its burden is greatest among the most vulnerable.

Long-lasting insecticide-treated mosquito nets (LN) and indoor residual sprays (IRS) are the cornerstones of malaria prevention, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. But 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 highly-adaptable mosquito to develop significant levels of resistance.  

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.

“New resistance management products are desperately needed to prevent mosquito-borne diseases and save lives,” says Egon Weinmueller, Head of BASF’s public health business. “This development breakthrough strengthens my personal belief that we really can be the generation to end malaria for good.”

A second chlorfenapyr product, an indoor residual spray named Sylando 240SC, is also in the final phases of WHO evaluation.

Independent trials in Benin, Burkina Faso, Tanzania and Ivory Coast have proven the efficacy of Interceptor G2 and Sylando 240SC against local insecticide-resistant mosquitoes.