After tests in Brazil by Oxitec , the British biotech company owned by Intrexon , showed a fall of 82 % in the population of wild mosquitoes after the introduction of its genetically modified mosquitoes whose larvae die before reaching adulthood , the FDA is " greatly expediting " the company 's application for further testing in the Florida Keys and is planning to release a draft environmental assessment soon . Despite critics who question whether the technology is scalable to tackle the Zika epidemic , Intrexon is building a factory in Piracicaba , Brazil , to produce 60 m male mosquitoes a week , enough to feed at least 300k people .
After tests in Brazil by Oxitec, the British biotech company owned by Intrexon, showed a fall of 82% in the population of wild mosquitoes after the introduction of its genetically engineered mosquitoes whose offspring die before reaching adulthood, the FDA is "greatly expediting" the company's application for further testing in the Florida Keys and is planning to release a draft environmental assessment soon. Despite critics who question whether the technology is scalable to tackle the Zika epidemic, Intrexon is building a factory in Piracicaba, Brazil, to produce 60m male mosquitoes a week, enough to protect at least 300k people.