Fighting the Bite New Venture Tackles Mosquito-Borne Diseases

A new venture, Oxitec Australia, is taking on two of the deadliest virus-carrying mosquitos in the Pacific region—Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus —to fight the spread of diseases like dengue, Zika, and yellow fever, which claim hundreds of thousands of lives globally each year. 

Oxitec Australia is a collaboration between CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, and UK-based Oxitec Ltd, the leading developer of biological solutions to control pests.  

The new venture leverages Oxitec's proven biological Friendly™ platform where genetically engineered male mosquitoes carry a self-limiting gene that ensures only non-biting males survive, reducing pest females and overall mosquito numbers through sustained releases. 

Professor Brett Sutton, Director of Health & Biosecurity at CSIRO, said Oxitec Australia is now seeking partners to accelerate its activities and product development in Australia. 
 
“Oxitec Australia offers a unique opportunity to help combat the growing threat of invasive and exotic pests, some of which are on mainland Australia’s doorstep like Aedes albopictus,” Professor Sutton said. 

“Factors like climate change and growing pesticide resistance will only bring greater challenges to the health of Australians and our region via vector-borne diseases. 

“By investing in new and innovative solutions that complement existing control programs, we can reduce the public health impacts of these exotic and invasive mosquito species. 

“This technology platform could also be used to develop solutions for a wide spectrum of pests that threaten livestock and crops and our food systems.” 

Subject to government and regulatory approvals, Oxitec Australia’s first solution will be a “just-add-water” product using the Friendly™ Aedes aegypti mosquito technology.  

This innovative product allows for the rapid production of Friendly™ non-biting male mosquitoes following the addition of water. 

Oxitec Australia is also developing a solution for the Aedes albopictus (Asian tiger mosquito) with funding from the CSIRO to help prevent a major invasion risk to mainland Australia. 
The new venture is already working with local communities in the Torres Strait affected by these mosquito and dengue outbreaks. Once completed, it aims to deploy this technology in impacted regions.

Grey Frandsen, CEO of Oxitec, said, “In collaboration with Indigenous communities, leading scientific institutions, industry partners, and farmers, we’re committed to transforming how pest threats to health, food security, and ecosystems are addressed. In doing so, we aim to not only protect lives, livelihoods, and biodiversity but also empower Indigenous communities.”
 
Oxitec Australia is also working to address pests threatening crops, such as the fall armyworm caterpillar.

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Fast facts: 

Mosquitoes 
   • Mosquitoes in the Indo-Pacific spread diseases like malaria, dengue, and Japanese encephalitis and cause over 23,000 deaths each year.  
   • Globally, dengue alone infects more than 390 million people every year and threatens billions more across the tropics.
   • Only female mosquitoes bite and are capable of transmitting viruses to humans.

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