Brody School of Medicine’s Department of Public Health Faculty, Dr. Lok Pokhrel’s patented technology, NoPest-Ag5, was selected as a finalist from eastern North Carolina (NC) to participate in the NC Bioneer Venture Challenge 2022, which was held from March 17 through May 19, 2022, at ECU. His venture was selected from the pool of exceptional venture applicants with a broad range of biotech-related commercialization activities and opportunities in the eastern NC region. NoPest-Ag5 is a novel nano-based pesticide developed at ECU in Dr. Pokhrel’s lab that specifically targets mosquitoes, effectively controlling all the four life stages (eggs, larvae, pupae and adults) at a very low dose compared to the conventional pesticides that are in use today. Unlike the current pesticides that are adversely toxic to humans and other off-target species, NoPest-Ag5 has an outstanding safety profile: it is safe to humans, crustaceans, honeybees, and food crops, and is nonoxidant to human lung and skin cells and nonirritant to eyes. NoPest-Ag5 is 100-1000 times cheaper to manufacture, is room temperature stable for over 3 years, and can be prepared in the field using tap water unlike many pesticides that use toxic petroleum distillate as a diluent. The NC Biotechnology Center launched this life-sciences-based, innovation-focused venture challenge to raise the profile, increase the volume, and enhance the successes of life science commercialization, innovators, entrepreneurs, and companies in every region across NC. All the finalists benefitted from mentoring and networking opportunities, targeted assistance from NCBC Life Science Intelligence (LSI) team and participated in a two-minute pitch challenge that was held on May 23, 2022, at the ECU Main Campus Student Center.As a finalist, Dr. Pokhrel’s venture was awarded a plaque and an honorarium of $10,000, which will support further commercialization efforts. Congratulations, Dr. Pokhrel!
