A year after patent, CU turns mosquito control innovation into startup

Kozhikode: Setting a model for accelerating the journey from patent to product, researchers at Calicut University have launched a startup within a year of securing an Indian patent for an eco-friendly mosquito control solution based on a peptide, a short chain of amino acids.The invention, developed by V M Kannan, former professor and founder of the Centre for Advanced Studies in Molecular Biology, along with his PhD scholar M Deepthi from the department of Zoology, had received the patent last year. The newly launched startup aims to commercialise the technology.Operating from the university's Centre for Innovation incubation facility, the startup will focus on reducing production costs of the bio-insecticide to make large-scale industrial manufacturing viable."Currently used organophosphate larvicides such as temephos can adversely affect non-target organisms including humans. In contrast, the TMOF peptide specifically targets mosquito larvae by acting through a specific receptor, thereby restricting its action to larvae in water bodies," Kannan said.The innovation involves producing a recombinant protein containing the peptide trypsin modulating oostatic factor (TMOF), known to effectively eliminate mosquito larvae. The process includes cloning the TMOF gene into bacteria, which then produce the peptide as they grow. Once the bacteria is inactivated, the solution can be sprayed to water bodies to destroy larvae.Kannan added that the startup's immediate priority is to cut down production costs, particularly the growth medium for bacteria, to make the technology commercially attractive.The research findings were published in Scientific Reports, a leading multidisciplinary journal from the Nature group.