Arizona-Based SenesTech, Inc., Partners With Australia to Stop Starvation Due to...

Arizona-Based SenesTech, Inc., Partners With Australia to Stop Starvation Due
to Rice Shortages

SAN DIEGO, June 19 /PRNewswire/ -- A new chemical fertility control
technology that could substantially reduce the devastating impacts of rodents
on rice production in developing countries is being featured at the BIO 2008
International Convention in San Diego, California from the 17th through the
20th of June. SenesTech, Inc., a Flagstaff, Arizona - based corporation, is
developing a technology that will target the fertility of rice field rats in
Southeast Asia. If successful this technology will result in increased crop
yields, an increase in food supplies globally, and will improve the quality of
life for hundreds of millions of lives within a few years.
"It is impossible to overstate the importance of this technology," said
Dr. Loretta P. Mayer, one of the company's founders and inventors of the
technology. "One fifth to one third of the world's food supply never reaches
the table due to the deleterious impacts of rodents. They damage crops both
pre- and post-harvest by not only eating the grain but damaging it with urine
and feces pollution. They also spread many debilitating diseases. While this
problem has persisted for centuries, it is possible that we may be able to
start reversing this process. Research shows that just a ten percent reduction
in the rice rat population can feed over 380 million people. The numbers are
simply staggering," she said.
The development of the technology is being completed at Northern Arizona
University in Flagstaff, while further characterization of animal models is
being conducted at Arizona State University in Tempe. The technology is built
on patents filed by the University of Arizona in Tucson, on which Dr. Mayer is
co-inventor. This statewide effort reflects the mission of the Arizona
Bioscience Roadmap, which provides Arizona scientists with a conduit for
collaborative research and technology transfer.
"It is impressive to witness the level of collaboration and innovation
that occur within our universities and communities," said Arizona Governor
Janet Napolitano. "These advances -- which potentially have a significant
impact on the planet -- are possible when we create the infrastructure for and
foster science-based projects and discoveries."
To complete development of the environmentally neutral product called
"ContraPest(TM)", and to provide for efficient distribution, the Arizona-based
biotech company has signed an international agreement with the Invasive
Animals Cooperative Research Centre (IACRC) in Canberra, the capital of
Australia. This Centre is part of an Australian government science innovation
program that brings together research institutions, industry partners and
business enterprises to accelerate technology transfer and the delivery of new
products into the marketplace.
Rats, insects, and weeds rank as the three major pests of small landholder
farmers in developing countries. A pair of rodents and their offspring can
potentially produce over 600 offspring in just three months. When food
supplies are plentiful, rodents reach unprecedented numbers. Today, it is not
unusual for smallholder rice farmers to report chronic yield losses of 20-30%
per year, rising to 50% or even total crop loss in certain areas. This places
an enormous strain on the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in developing
countries. In turn, such losses compound the current food crisis, placing a
heavy burden on the tens of millions of landless and urban poor. SenesTech
believes the technology has the potential to have a significant impact in the
13 countries that produce over 84% of the world's rice supply, including
China, India, and other Southeast Asian nations, which will be SenesTech's
first customers.
Dr. Mayer, along with Dr. Cheryl Dyer, and Dr. Timothy Vail, SenesTech's
scientific team, has developed this environmentally safe alternative to poison
that can be used to sterilize the rice field rat. The technology accelerates
the natural reproductive aging process in the rat resulting in sterility or
reproductive "senescence". These scientists, all from Northern Arizona
University, have teamed up with Dr. Lyn Hinds from the IACRC and the
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in
Australia and Drs. Sudarmaji at the Indonesian Centre for Rice Research in
Sukamandi, Indonesia to begin assessment of the product in Indonesian-based
studies this fall.
"I am dedicated to addressing starvation with this technology and changing
the livelihoods of the rural poor," said Everett Hale, CEO. Hale was recruited
by the company to lead the international effort and build on the company's
core technology. "I never knew the extent to which governments had to use
poison to prevent famine. A percentage of poison in any food supply is not
acceptable. We are losing lives and the environment. Through our technology,
we can now change the world and help feed its people."
For additional information on ContraPest(TM) contact Everett Hale at
ehale@senestech.com or visit http://www.senestech.com. ContraPest(TM) is
projected to be available for commercial use in the Spring of 2010.
ABOUT (SenesTech, Inc.) SenesTech is a platform technology company
located in Flagstaff, Arizona specializing in fertility control products for
wildlife population control including dogs and cats. Other products in the
development pipeline include ChemSpay(TM), a non-surgical spay product for
female dogs and cats.
SOURCE SenesTech, Inc.

Everett Hale of SenesTech, Inc., +1-619-876-8745, or fax, +1-928-774-5149,
ehale@senestech.com