Oxitec, a Milton Park, Abingdon, UK-based developer of a solution for controlling insects that spread disease and damage crops, completed a £6.1m ($10.2m) funding round.
Backers included existing shareholders Oxford Capital Partners, the University of Oxford and East Hill Management, who were joined by a number of international private investors from South America, Europe and Asia.
The company intends to use the new funds to establish commercial production facilities to enable the roll out of dengue mosquito control programmes, initially in Brazil, will support local recruitment and training for the programs, and expand its activities into additional countries impacted by dengue fever.
Led by Hadyn Parry, Chief Executive Officer, Oxitec recently received the first approval for its novel technology for the control of dengue mosquitoes in April by the Brazilian National Technical Commission for Biosecurity (CTNBio).
The platform produces a unique strain of the dengue mosquito (Aedes aegypti), which contains specific sterility and marker genes. To control dengue mosquito populations, Oxitec males are released to mate with wild females in the treated area. Male Aedes aegypti do not bite, and therefore do not spread the dengue virus. The resulting offspring inherit the additional genes and die before becoming adults. They also inherit the marker, which is visible under a specific wave length of light, allowing simple programme monitoring in the field.
The company was established in 2002 as a spin-out from the University of Oxford.
FinSMEs
23/06/2014