Table 1 New insecticidal products for malaria vector control

Indoor residual sprays

Two new long-lasting formulations of existing IRS insecticides but with increased longevity beyond the benchmark of 2–4 months, to 6–12 months have already reached the market. Other formulations of repurposed agro-chemicals are under development, but are at best 12–24 months from becoming available for deployment. IVCC has established a portfolio of novel active ingredient candidates that should deliver new public health insecticides by 2022.

Long-lasting insecticidal nets

New formulations are in preparation, with the first generation of these containing a pyrethroid plus a synergist or growth regulator. An important step will be to examine potential additional benefits against pyrethroid-resistant Anopheles. A second generation of non-pyrethroid multi-insecticide nets is in early stage development but it is likely to be several years before availability for wide-scale deployment.

Spatial repellents

Currently there are insufficient data to assess whether spatial repellents could play a substantive role in malaria disease prevention. A multi-country field trial of the effectiveness of repellents is under way which should establish whether repellents work against most or just a small sub-set of mosquito vectors, but this study is unlikely to alone provide sufficient evidence to recommend wide-scale usage of repellents as part of national control programmes. Continued commitment from industry and research groups will be required to identify and validate any promising new candidates.