Flyttr will build the first U.S. pest biosecurity platform in San Antonio to speed responses to critical pests, like the screwworm fly.
Photo courtesy of USDA
A large-scale biosecurity platform is being built in San Antonio to boost the nation’s capacity to fight critical pest threats like the screwworm fly.
Flyttr, a global biosecurity company, is building what it says is the first U.S. biosecurity research, development and countermeasures platform in the city. It will boost the ability to detect, understand and react to expanding pest threats ranging from disease-spreading mosquitoes to the flesh-eating pest threatening livestock production.
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“As screwworm shows us, we have no time to lose to bolster resilience to these threats. And unprecedented effort requires strong partnerships,” Flyttr CEO Grey Frandsen said. “We could have no better host and partner than the City of San Antonio nor a better champion of the vision than our federal partners within the U.S. government. It’s game time.”
READ MORE: After finding first new case of screwworm, Texas ranchers dusting off a game plan from the ’60s
Flyttr already operates at the Texas Biomedical Research Institute but the 130,000-square-foot facility on the East Side will mark its first solo footprint in San Antonio. It is expected to immediately add more than 50 research and development, engineering operations and support jobs. As the program scales up that number should exceed 100.
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San Antonio was chosen because of its long legacy as a hub for national and agricultural security, the company said. The city’s robust research institutions, biosafety infrastructure and workforce anchored by the Texas Biomedical Research Institute were all points of attraction.
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“Flyttr’s investment in a new San Antonio research and manufacturing facility is an exciting next step forward in our efforts to combat New World screwworm and strengthen our region’s biotech innovation ecosystem,” said Larry Schlesinger, president and CEO at Texas Biomedical Research Institute. “Texas Biomed is proud to partner with Flyttr to help address this urgent challenge.”
Sterile flies are central to screwworm response
Sterile flies have been crucial in the fight against the screwworm fly, as the sterile male flies mate with screwworm flies that then lay eggs that never hatch. Without that effort, the hatched larvae burrow into animals and feed on their flesh.
The biggest challenge in combating the flesh-eating pest since it returned to the U.S. in June has been the shortage of sterile flies and production capacity. Flyttr said its new facility will speed up the ability to move such countermeasures from concept to production in months rather than years.
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The first initiative of the platform is to boost its FastFly program, which will accelerate production of American-made sterile flies as part of the national screwworm response led by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Facility aims to address broader pest threats
“Pest biosecurity is national security,” Frandsen said. “This new pest biosecurity platform in San Antonio, the first of its type, will help the U.S. and its allies respond to a range of growing biosecurity threats. The screwworm is the first target, but this builds on Flyttr’s ongoing work.”
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It involves AI-powered support tools and advanced biological solutions to address diseases like mosquito-spread malaria or pests threatening American corn. Frandsen said. The investment will scale the “capacity to design, test, produce and deploy countermeasures against the growing and critical pest threats,” Flyttr said in a statement.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.