FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT:

Nadim Mohr/Tana Netting
E-mail: nadim@siamdutch.com

Mary F. Maguire/AED
E-mail: mmaguire@aed.org

David McGuire/NetMark
E-mail: dmcguire@aed.org

First Factory to Utilize “End of Line” Mass Treatment Technology for
Longer-Lasting Nets to Control Malaria Opens Sept. 15

Bangkok, Thailand (Sept. 12)—The first factory equipped with new technology that enables the mechanized, mass treatment of mosquito nets at the end of the manufacturing process will open September 15 in Bangkok, Thailand, NetMark and Tana Netting Company announced today.

Based on initial trials, the new treatment process, which has been in development for two years, will bind insecticide to the net for more than 20 washes, resulting in the first-ever, mass factory treatment of finished nets with long-lasting insecticide.

“The lab results are excellent, factory trials have begun, and production will begin in September,” said Nadim Mohr, Director of Marketing and Sales of Tana Netting Company.

The mechanized process was developed through a public-private partnership created by NetMark, a program funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development to reduce the burden of malaria in Africa by expanding the availability and use of insecticide-treated nets there.

NetMark partnered with SiamDutch Mosquito Netting and Bayer Environmental Science to develop a new and innovative mechanized chemical application process for the production of Long-Lasting Insecticidal Nets (LLINs) that could be easily transferable to other manufacturers currently producing mosquito nets.

“The major advance offered by this technology is its ability to be transferred to other existing net manufacturers, thereby exponentially increasing the availability of LLINs, for which there is currently a shortage of supply,” said David McGuire, director of NetMark.

“This is a breakthrough that has the potential to save millions of African lives, and we look forward to sharing it with net manufacturers at an upcoming meeting in Nairobi at the end of September,” added McGuire. “We’ll also continue to test this process with other LLIN treatment products as they become available.”

SiamDutch Mosquito Netting has incorporated a new company, Tana Netting Company Limited, to produce a LLIN, marketed under the name DawaPlus®. According to Mohr, the company has submitted its technical application to WHO’s Pesticide Evaluation Scheme (WHOPES) for DawaPlus® to be certified as a long-lasting insecticide treated net.

Tana Netting Company will focus solely on the production and marketing of long-lasting nets and has built a new 16,000 square meter manufacturing plant for this purpose. The company has invested more than $4 million USD in this effort, and Bayer made a similar investment in the insecticide product development.

“Tana has committed substantial funds to produce this important public health product, and we expect it to be available in October,” said Mohr.

“USAID’s willingness to work with commercial companies and invest in new technologies will result in many more people, including the most vulnerable, having access to life-saving nets,” said Nicolaas Pierson, CEO of SiamDutch & Tana Netting. “I believe this new technology will make a big difference in malaria control and prevention.”

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