Agragene has received funding from the USDA New World Screwworm Grand Challenge and the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research to advance a new approach for controlling New World screwworm (NWS).
The company’s precision-guided sterile insect technique uses CRISPR-based genetics to produce healthy, sterile male flies that mate with wild females, reducing future pest populations.
CEO Bryan Witherbee said ranchers need additional tools to combat the insect and believes the technology offers a scalable, cost-effective solution.
Co-founder Dr. Omar Akbari said the funding will help accelerate development of the technology, which is designed to complement existing control efforts by improving the efficiency and scalability of sterile insect programs targeting NWS.
