According to the World Health Organization, every year there are more than 200 million new cases of malaria, with children under 5 the most vulnerable group affected by the disease. Avient is working together with IVCC, a not-for-profit Product Development Partnership (PDP) based in the UK, to step up the global fight to eradicate malaria and tackle insecticide resistance. Avient and IVCC are creating a new masterbatch production laboratory in Guangzhou, China to support research and development of novel, active insecticide ingredients for long-lasting insecticidal treated nets (LLINs).
The pioneering new facility is expected to be fully operational this summer, and open to current and future innovation projects. It will provide a medium-scale platform for testing and developing masterbatch formulations with insecticides to speed up the process of bringing LLINs to the market. Developing these formulations is imperative to eliminating malaria, as insecticide resistance is making the most widely used formulations, such as pyrethroids, increasingly ineffective. The new facility will also support scale up for those formulations that prove promising.
With extensive global expertise in groundbreaking material solutions to support malaria control, Avient has the capabilities to optimize masterbatch formulations for LLINs to deliver ideal insecticide performance. This includes optimum bio-efficiency and controlled migration of the insecticide to the fiber surface — just enough to kill any mosquito on contact.
Established in 2005 through a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation grant, IVCC works with industry, funding partners and researchers to develop new public health insecticides for use in LLINs, indoor residual spraying (IRS), and other vector control tools. Its mission is to facilitate innovative approaches to preventing vector-borne diseases globally and to tackle insecticide resistance.
Nick Hamon, CEO of IVCC, comments: “Partnering with Avient is an important step in our product portfolio development work. Improving our capabilities to develop and deliver new tools to help address the growing threat of insecticide resistance is critical if we are to achieve our mission of delivering a toolbox of effective interventions to eradicate malaria. We are extremely grateful to all our funding partners who have helped us achieve this important milestone.”
Avient, a leading sustainable solutions provider for synthetic fiber applications, enables enhanced fiber performance and coloration for a more agile and environmentally friendly textile industry.
“Avient’s collaboration with IVCC will enable LLINs manufacturers to transform their visions into groundbreaking products that improve quality of life in a meaningful way,” said Michael Adam, global technology director at Avient. “Working towards a solution that saves lives and improves public health aligns with Avient’s sustainability goals and commitment to our communities, both local and global.”
