Biocentis Lands $19M to Advance Genetic Tools That Target Harmful Insects Without Harming Ecosystems

Courtesy: Biocentis

Biocentis has secured US$19 million to accelerate a new generation of precision tools aimed at reducing the global health, agricultural and biodiversity threats posed by insects. The company, a spin-out of Imperial College London, blends genome engineering with AI-driven modelling to develop insects carrying traits that lower fertility within specific target species. Once released, these engineered insects mate with wild populations and gradually suppress their numbers, while leaving neighbouring species and surrounding ecosystems untouched. It is a departure from a century of chemical-based approaches that struggle with resistance, environmental damage, and rising regulatory pressure.

The new funding combines a US$13 million seed round led by the Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment and Algebris Investments with a US$6 million award from Wellcome. It gives Biocentis the resources to push its first solutions into field trials across the Americas and expand its platform to additional harmful species. For the company, the support from both climate-focused and global-health investors signals growing convergence around the need for interventions that protect people and the planet without repeating the unintended consequences of traditional pest control.

Biocentis was founded on more than fifteen years of research at Imperial College into genetic population-control strategies. The team has built a programmable biology platform that allows for the precise insertion of fertility-reducing traits, an approach designed to be species-specific, self-limiting and inherently safer than releasing chemicals into shared ecosystems. In parallel, the company applies artificial intelligence to simulate how engineered traits behave once introduced into real-world ecological conditions. These models help anticipate how populations change over time, speed up design cycles and identify emerging risks, a capability that becomes increasingly important as climate change and global trade alter the distribution of insect species.

The stakes are high. Mosquitoes alone infect hundreds of millions of people each year, leading to nearly a million deaths. Aedes aegypti, one of Biocentis’s first targets, carries dengue, Zika, yellow fever and chikungunya and has been expanding its range as temperatures rise. On the agricultural side, pests destroy up to a quarter of global crop yields annually, while invasive insects continue to push native species toward extinction. Drosophila suzukii, also in the company’s initial portfolio, is a fast-spreading fruit fly that has caused severe economic losses across berry, stone fruit, and cherry production. With every region facing some combination of vector-borne disease, food insecurity, and biodiversity decline, the need for more precise, scalable and ecologically responsible tools is urgent.

Biocentis co-founders

“For over a century, we have relied on chemical pesticides, but insects evolve faster than chemical interventions, and the collateral damage to people and the environment continues to mount,” said Giorgio Rocca, Co-founder and CEO of Biocentis. “Advances in genetics now let us control harmful insect populations with precision while preserving the health of surrounding ecosystems.”

Biocentis enters a field that has been evolving rapidly. Early pioneers like Oxitec demonstrated that engineered insects could reduce mosquito populations significantly in controlled settings, while major initiatives such as Verily’s Debug program showed how data and automation can support targeted releases. Academic groups working on gene-drive systems have pushed the scientific frontier further, although most remain in the research phase due to regulatory, ethical, and ecological considerations. Biocentis aims to strike a balance between scientific ambition and near-term applicability by focusing on self-limiting, species-specific traits that can be rigorously evaluated and tightly regulated.

Success will depend on more than genetic design. Field trials require close coordination with regulators, public-health agencies, farmers, conservation groups, and local communities. Acceptance hinges on transparency, demonstrable safety, and clear benefits, whether that means fewer dengue outbreaks, reduced pesticide use, or better protection for high-value crops. If Biocentis can navigate these complexities, its technology could offer a path forward at a moment when conventional options are losing ground and global pressures are intensifying.

The company’s next phase is about moving from controlled environments to real-world impact. With new backing and growing momentum behind nature-positive innovation, Biocentis is positioning itself as part of a broader shift: using programmable biology to address some of the most persistent challenges in public health, food production, and conservation. As rising temperatures expand the map of vector-borne disease and push agricultural systems to their limits, solutions that are both effective and ecologically balanced will be essential. Biocentis is betting that genetics, and the ability to design precisely for the species driving the harm, can help tip the balance.