Athena Vector Technology

Athena Vector Technology LLC is a material processing company on a mission to deliver a mechanical mode of action insecticide to combat vector-borne diseases like malaria and dengue fever. Insecticide resistance is impacting the effectiveness of legacy (and new) Indoor Residual Spray (IRS) insecticides used for vector-borne disease control. This is being exacerbated by climate change. Perlite is a new active ingredient (ai) with proven long-term residual activity on brick, cement, and mud. It provides a mechanical mode of action (adsorption of lipid layers) and is a powerful complementary new tool for any Integrated Vector Management program. A recent WHO PQ safety assessment of the perlite active ingredient supports the prequalification of the product, but additional efficacy data is required for approval. A 2018 community-level trial demonstrated promising entomological evidence, indicating that the perlite active ingredient is not non-inferior to the gold standard IRS in sporozoite rate, with equal residual efficacy (>80% mortality at 72 hours) measured at 11 months. The primary goal of Athena Vetor Technology is to secure WHO PQ approval for its IRS product, Aetna WG, by completing the required Phase I, II, and III trials and building a plant in WHO Africa Region.