[9] He is an American who led start-up initiatives in the U.S. government and the private and non-profit sectors on matters relating to national and global public health security, biotechnology and crisis response.
[11][12][13] During the 2010s, Oxitec established partnerships with agricultural industry[14] leaders and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
[16] Oxitec's borrowed on considerable existing research that genetically modifying insects could disrupt their ability to reproduce and over time, reduce their populations.
[17][18] Its OX513A strain alters males to produce protein tTA, which negatively affects cell development.
The engineered gene based on elements found in E. coli and the herpes simplex virus, causes the female offspring’s cells to produce tTAV protein.
[26] Health Minister Dwayne Seymour and other legislators expressed skepticism on-the-record about the trials' effectiveness.
[27] However, Oxitec and the Mosquito Research and Control Unit of the Cayman Islands continue to analyze the data collected over the 10 year project.
[28] In 2011 Oxitec conducted a field test in cooperation with the company Moscamed and the University of São Paulo.
[29][30] In July 2015, Oxitec released results of a test in the Juazeiro region of Brazil to fight Dengue, Chikungunya and Zika viruses.
The company announced the trial's results in June 2019, reporting that the project reduced the mosquito population by 79%.
In two, scientists released 100 male mosquito eggs per resident per week and 500 in the others, reporting that the smaller numbers were as effective as the higher ones.
[46][47][48] A November 2016 referendum showed overwhelming local support for the project to release genetically engineered male mosquitos.
Others were unhappy about becoming a test site, with some threatening to derail the experiments by filling the mosquito boxes with bleach.
[citation needed] In 2020, Oxitec's OX5034 mosquito was approved for release by state and federal authorities for use in Florida.
Specimens cannot be released near any potential tetracycline sources (which allows females to develop), or within 500 meters of wastewater treatment facilities, commercial citrus, apple, pear, nectarine, peach growing areas, or livestock.
Opponents include Friends of the Earth, the Institute for Responsible Tech and the Center for Food Safety who object to the lack of public data on the Florida trial and the technique's experimental status.
[58] In January 2016 Brazil's National Biosafety Committee approved the release Oxitec mosquitos throughout their country.
In August 2020, the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District (FKMCD) Board of Commissioners approved the project.