A new Victorian biotechnology company, Hatchtech, announced at BIO 2005 that its technology is the first in the world to kill 100% of head lice eggs. International clinical trials are expected to begin within a year and the product may be on market shelves within three years.
Next to the common cold, the world's second most communicable disease is head lice. This is not news to Melbourne's parents who spend literally hundreds of dollars each year trying to prevent their kids from scratching. With a global market worth close to $US310 million a year, a patented product that completely eradicates head lice is a highly attractive proposition for the pharmaceutical industry.
Hatchtech is a biotechnology company that is a spin-off from The University of Melbourne's Centre for Animal Biotechnology, with commercial support from Melbourne Ventures.
Focusing on the development of products for the consumer health market, Hatchtech is developing a range of low-toxicity ovicides (treatments to eradicate eggs) of human, animal and plant parasites.
"This funding is confirmation that Hatchtech is on the right track. The novelty and effectiveness of the technology, the marker size and the short lead time required to take the product to the shelves has attracted significant funding from leading investors," he said.
"This technology promises to provide the first truly effective head lice treatment, killing both the lice and their eggs. It has the potential to revolutionize the head lice industry," added Dr Vern Bowles, Chief Scientific Officer, Hatchtech.
One in five primary school children have head lice, according to NSW Health who warned in 2003 that existing treatments were not working at eradicating the parasite because the bugs were becoming resistant. In 1993 there were 6 million cases of head lice in the US. In 2003, this figure had doubled to 12 million, according to the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC).