EPA Releases Documents on Genetically Engineered Mosquitoes for Public Comment and Peer Review
Released August 21, 2025
Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its white paper and supporting materials on genetically engineered (GE) mosquitoes for mosquito control. These materials outline considerations for the design of these insects and propose analytical methods for determining the absence of novel proteins in the saliva of GE female mosquitoes. These materials are being released for public comment and peer review by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP).
In addition to providing background and context for how GE mosquitoes function as a method of pest control, the white paper describes the contents of a draft memorandum by the agency that outlines design considerations for developers of novel GE mosquitoes used for mosquito control, as well as analytical methods that the agency finds provide robust and conservative approaches to determining the absence of novel proteins in the saliva of female GE mosquitoes. The white paper also presents three case studies, one of which is a real-world case study currently under review for registration. These case studies are expected to help refine the universe of acceptable data to support the agency’s assessment based on the FIFRA SAPs recommendations.
EPA will solicit review and input from the FIFRA SAP on the proposed methodologies. This includes specific aspects of the agency’s draft memorandum that provides considerations for developers of GE mosquitoes. Feedback from this review will be considered in the development of a final memorandum. EPA will hold a virtual FIFRA SAP meeting on Nov. 3-5, 2025. EPA will accept written comments on the white paper, charge questions, background documents, and related supporting materials for consideration by the FIFRA SAP on or before Sep. 22, 2025, via the public docket EPA-HQ-OPP-2025-0756 on regulations.gov.
To present oral comments during the virtual public meeting, registration should be completed by Oct. 27, 2025, and a written version of oral comments should be submitted by Oct. 30, 2025. For attendees not making oral comments, registration will remain open through the end of the meeting on Nov. 5, 2025.
Registration instructions for the public meeting will be announced on the FIFRA SAP website in Oct. 2025, including information about how to register to present oral comments during the virtual meeting.
For additional information on the FIFRA SAP peer review, please see the Federal Register notice or contact the Designated Federal Official, Alie Muneer at muneer.alie@epa.gov.