INIA Uruguay

Their work could prevent hundreds of millions of dollars in annual losses while significantly reducing animal suffering across the continent.

What problem are they trying to solve?

The NWS is a parasitic fly that causes severe economic damage to livestock production across South America, with annual losses reaching up to 0.1% of regional GDP. Screwworm flies cost the livestock industry $40M–$154M per year in Uruguay, where over 80% of the nation’s exports are agricultural products. Beyond the direct economic costs, the parasite causes significant suffering via extremely painful lesions in the skin of livestock, wildlife, and humans.

This pest has been successfully eliminated from North and Central America through weekly releases of sterile screwworms in Panama, which keeps the infestation from spreading northward. However, this approach is not feasible in South America due to the widespread nature of the infestation. Gene drive technology could offer a promising solution for eradication, but research in this area is currently underfunded.

What do they do?

INIA's research group, led by Alejo Menchaca, is working to develop a gene drive system that could effectively eradicate the NWS from South America. Their comprehensive research program encompasses the optimization of targeted embryo injection techniques, the creation of transgenic fly lines, and the execution of drive experiments to test effectiveness. The team is simultaneously developing implementation strategies for eventual field deployment, ensuring that their laboratory successes can translate into real-world impact. Based on promising early results, experts we’ve spoken to have estimated that there’s an 80% chance of INIA’s research leading to a working solution.

Why do we recommend them?

If INIA’s work is successful, it could provide a one-time solution to a problem that currently requires constant management and causes ongoing economic losses. The potential for success is supported by multiple lines of evidence: promising early research results, strong expert assessments, and clear precedent from North America, where NWS eradication has prevented billions in losses. Their highly qualified research team has developed a clear pathway to implementation, with significant potential impact—successful deployment could prevent hundreds of millions in annual losses across the region.

Despite the scale of economic damage, traditional funders including government agencies, multilaterals, and large foundations have largely overlooked this issue, either due to its focus on livestock rather than human health or hesitancy around gene drive technology. This creates an unusual opportunity for philanthropic funding to have an outsized impact.

What would they do with more funding?

INIA is urgently seeking funding to accelerate their research through several critical expansions of their program. Relatively small contributions could lead to major improvements, such as acquiring additional lab equipment, engaging a specialist consultant to conduct population genetics analyses, expanding the egg microinjection lab and fly rearing facilities, and hiring three additional technical staff members to increase research capacity.

Supporting INIA's work represents an opportunity to advance potentially transformative research that could eliminate a major source of economic loss and animal suffering across South America through a one-time intervention.