Oxitec Announces Ground-breaking Commercial Launch of Its Friendly™ Aedes aegypti Solution in Brazil

Oxitec, the leading developer of biological solutions to control pests, announced today the landmark commercial launch of its Friendly™ Aedes aegypti solution designed specifically for use by homeowners, businesses, and communities to control the dengue-spreading Aedes aegypti mosquito. This launch represents the first time globally that the benefits of using biologically engineered mosquito control technology that can be purchased directly by consumers. Having received full biosafety commercial approval in 2020 from the Brazilian government’s biosafety authority, CTNBio, the company is making its just-add-water solution available for delivery directly to customers’ doorsteps starting in the State of São Paulo. Available for purchase online, the product comprises durable outer boxes and Friendly™ male mosquito egg refill packs. Once delivered, customers need only to add water to the Friendly™ box, place it in a garden, patio, or around a home or business, and the boxes will produce Oxitec’s non-biting male mosquitoes over time, which disperse to find and mate with invasive, biting Aedes aegypti females. Their female offspring cannot survive, which means fewer biting female mosquitoes in the following generations. While the Friendly™ Aedes aegypti males pursue and mate with female Aedes aegypti, customers need only reactivate the easy-to-use box once per month. This technology controls the pest without harming beneficial species like bees and butterflies and does not persist in the environment.

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