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World Economic Forum honour for Oxitec

Special Correspondent

It is one among the 39 visionary companies selected Technology Pioneers 2008

CHENNAI: The World Economic Forum on Friday announced that 39 visionary companies, including Oxitec, had been selected Technology Pioneers 2008.

These were nominated by the world’s leading technology experts including venture capitalists, technology companies, academics and the media. The final selection from 273 nominees was made by a panel of experts appointed by the Forum.

Eco-friendly

According to a release, Oxitec has been selected in recognition of the company’s unique and proprietary technology for control of major global insect pests, which are damaging public health and agriculture. Oxitec’s environment-friendly technology has been developed at Oxford University and it employs advances in genetics and molecular biology to improve the cost-effectiveness and safety of the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT), which is currently used for insect control. Being selected a Technology Pioneer will enable Oxitec to meet other leading experts from around the world to raise awareness of the company’s technology.

Evaluation

Oxitec’s technology has already been independently evaluated in France and Malaysia with promising results for controlling the mosquito that is responsible for the spread of dengue, an increasingly widespread disease that affects over 100 million people every year. Two more insect pest control products that are based on Oxitec’s technology are in advanced development with the United States Department of Agriculture.

Luke Alphey, Oxitec’s founder and chief scientist, said: “We are delighted to have been selected as a Technology Pioneer 2008 and are proud of the achievements at Oxitec. The recognition as a Technology Pioneer demonstrates that we have a technology that can be successfully applied in pest control with the potential to make a real difference to people’s lives, both in public health and agriculture globally.”

Innovation

Peter Torreele, Managing Director of the World Economic Forum, said that this year they received a record number of applications from companies around the world to become a Technology Pioneer.

“From a highly competitive field, we are extremely pleased to have a community that is using innovation and technology to dramatically affect the way society and business operate and doing so in a markedly collaborative manner. We are excited to welcome the Technology Pioneers class of 2008 to the larger community of the World Economic Forum and we are looking forward to the fruits that their collaboration will bring.”

The technology is a proprietary platform with the potential to enable effective and environment-friendly control of insects that carry human diseases and are agricultural pests. Developed at Oxford University, the technology employs advances in genetics and molecular biology to potentially improve the cost-effectiveness and safety of the Sterile Insect Technique, which has been used for more than 50 years and can be described as “birth control for insects.”

The technique involves the release of a large number of sterile insects over a wide area to mate with wild pest insects. The progeny of the wild females then do not develop, leading to a decline in the target pest population.

Oxitec’s insects are bred to be “sterile” without the need for expensive irradiation used in the conventional SIT. In addition, only male insects are released. They have proved far more effective than mixed populations.

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