The Technology Transfer and Intellectual Property Office (TTIPO) at NIAID, in partnership with the CDC, oversaw licensing and patenting of a low-cost and pesticide-free trap to monitor and control mosquito populations. Mosquitoes can spread deadly viruses — such as dengue, Zika, chikungunya, and yellow fever — that can cause significant outbreaks and disease. The World Health Organization reports that almost half of the world’s population is at risk for dengue, and there are up to 390 million dengue infections annually. Aedes species mosquitoes can transmit viruses through bites to people. They are found throughout tropical and subtropical countries around the world, including U.S. territories and the southern United States. 

CDC leveraged numerous technology transfer mechanisms in developing and commercializing the Autocidal Gravid Ovitrap (AGO) trap technology. Researchers collaborated with partners, conducted field studies and authored or co-authored 20 publications on this work. Inventors and staff promoted AGO traps via 38 scientific conferences and marketing. CDC’s Technology Transfer Office handled first patent applications, agreements and licensing. TTIPO initiated or facilitated 16 different agreements with interested parties, including a non-exclusive licensing agreement with AP&G signed in November 2016. 

Partners at AP&G licensed, further developed and incorporated CDC’s technology into a commercialized product under the company’s Catchmaster® brand. AP&G entered the mosquito management industry with the CDC-developed non-toxic Ovi-CatchTM trap. AP&G sells the traps to pest management companies, consumers and property owners throughout the United States. This effort furthers CDC’s and NIAID’s mission to protect Americans from health and safety threats, both foreign and domestic. AGO traps have proven successful in surveillance, mosquito control and disease reduction. Field trials in which AGO traps were installed in most homes in a community have shown that they reduce not only mosquito populations but also rates of infection. This important CDC invention and the technology transfer efforts that led to its commercialization continues to prevent mosquito- borne disease and improve lives for those in high-risk areas.