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American Biophysics CEO Devin Hosea to Address ''Smart'' Mosquito Control for Public Health at Hedge Funds Vs. Malaria Conference

Posted on: Tuesday, 29 November 2005, 09:00 CST

A new category of mosquito abatement technology under development for high-end property management including resorts and golf courses may become a tool in the arsenal aimed at combating malaria in third world countries, such as those in Africa, where more than 5,000 people die from the disease every day. Devin Hosea, CEO of American Biophysics Corp. (Ambio), creator of the market-leading Mosquito Magnet(R) mosquito defense system, will discuss the potential for the new technology in public health at the First Annual Atlanta "Hedge Funds vs. Malaria" Business Leadership Conference, to be held Tues., Dec. 6 at Emory University's Law School.

The conference aims to mobilize the hedge fund community to help raise money for malaria-related charities, as well as increase public awareness and find ways to make treatment and prevention more successful and cost effective. Between one and three million children worldwide die from malaria annually -- more than AIDS and cancer combined -- even though malaria is a completely preventable disease. Hosea, who will speak at 6:15 p.m., also serves as managing director of Ritchie Capital Management's Biotechnology Venture Group, which invests in late-stage private and public life science companies and takes an active, long-term role in developing its portfolio companies into successful businesses.

Ambio is the world leader in biting insect abatement technology and is developing a barrier trap system designed to network multiple traps into a "smart" mosquito net to serve institutional markets as well as public health sectors. Current tools aimed at addressing malaria include the use of combination drug therapies, the distribution of insecticide-treated nets, and the spraying of insecticide in vulnerable areas. Other recent initiatives include Bill Gate's pledge of $258.3 million for a multi-pronged attack on malaria, focusing on research and development on a vaccine, new drugs, and improved tools for mosquito control. Additionally, the U.S. government pledged earlier this year to spend $1.2 billion over five years to fight malaria in Africa.

"Most people have no idea of the economic and human devastation caused by malaria, and practically no one knows that the fight against this disease can be both humanitarian, as well as profitable," said Hosea. "Our goal is to show how next-generation mosquito abatement technology can protect a large area at a low per capita cost and be quite successful in controlling the adult mosquito population that spreads malaria."

Past history has shown that even when large-scale efforts involving sprays and putting oil on all breeding grounds have succeeded in eliminating mosquitoes, the victory has been short lived and at the cost of making residents more vulnerable to disease when mosquitoes are inevitably reintroduced, Hosea said. "We believe a combination of approaches will create additional levels of effectiveness while giving agencies and local governments the flexibility to control costs and the hazardous trade offs from the spray and oil approach," Hosea said.

Joining Hosea at the conference will be Dr. Pani Ellinas, MD, MPH, who has been appointed Chief Medical Officer at Ambio. Dr. Ellinas has substantial experience with malaria in refugee camp settings and has worked in International Humanitarian and Emergency Relief for many years. He served as the only doctor for 20,000 Malaria-ridden Khmer refugees in the CDC designated "Highest Malaria-Resistance Region in the World" on the Thai-Cambodia border. Ellinas, a Swarthmore College Graduate, has trained in Preventive Medicine/Epidemiology and Radiation Oncology in Arizona and New Jersey, and has a master's degree in public health from the University of Arizona, as well as doctorate from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx. He additionally runs a non-profit clinic for the indigent on the U.S.- Mexico border and serves as medical director of the Cochise County, Ariz., Health Department.

Ambio announced last month a $15 million round of financing to initiate commercialization of the networked mosquito abatement system, which will begin in 2006. Program and registration information for the Atlanta "Hedge Funds vs. Malaria" Business Leadership Conference can be found at the www.malaria.org.

About American Biophysics Corp.

American Biophysics Corp., www.americanbiophysicscorp.com, headquartered in North Kingstown, R.I., is a scientific, research-based company that studies the behavior of biting insects and manufactures biting insect abatement traps for consumer, commercial and government applications. The company was first-to-market with a carbon dioxide-based biting insect abatement trap for commercial use in 1998, and continues to be the leader in biting insect abatement technology.

Source: Business Wire

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