Genesis Labs gets Gates grant

By JoAn Bjarko
North Forty News

A small Wellington research company has $5.2 million in its pocket, courtesy of the Gates Foundation, to find a way to safely and economically kill sand flies in India.

If successful, Genesis Laboratories' work will save hundreds of thousands of lives each year.

Richard Poché, founder of the research lab, will leave for India May 4 to lay the groundwork for research facilities in Patna, India. Up to four of his employees will work on site with Indian counterparts to stop the spread of the disease known as kala-azar, medically as visceral leishmaniasis and commonly referred to as black fever.

Sand flies are about the size of a gnat, Poché said, and they carry the parasite that causes black fever. Through a sand fly bite, the parasite migrates to a human's internal organs such as the liver and spleen. If left untreated or undertreated, black fever is fatal.

Another form of the disease, cutaneous leishmaniasis, causes a sore at the bite site, which can heal in a few months to a year but leaves scars.

If researchers can kill or hinder sand flies, however, they can break the cycle of disease transmission and reduce the number of cases, Poché explained.

The Gates Foundation has already funded a vaccine, so its grant to Genesis Labs is another attack on the same problem. Poché said his company was selected for the job because of its history of problem solving.

"We're practical and quick," he said. "We're more interested in developing a solution and getting it to people as soon as possible."

Genesis Labs is serving as a small business test model for the Gates Foundation, Poché said, adding that this is the foundation's first grant to a small for-profit business.

The grant will cover three years of research, and Poché expects it will be extended if research goals are met.

His staff members will work in India in rotating stints of four to six months, he said. It's a harsh climate with high humidity along the Ganges River and summer temperatures of 115 degrees.

Genesis Labs will not be involved in sales and marketing of any developed products. Groups in India will handle product manufacturing at low profit margins to make products available to the very needy, Poché said, noting that the average annual income of those suffering from the disease is $200 a year.

"It would just be pleasure enough to develop something," he said. "That is reward in itself."

Poché and his wife, Linda, who met in the Peace Corps, started Genesis Labs in 1989. It currently has 16 employees and works with a number of consultants.