The "International Alliance for Avermectin Industry-Academia-Research" has developed a new type of avermectin-based drugs
08/18/2025 10:56:23
Recently, the core members of the "International Alliance for Avermectin Industry-Academia-Research" - the team led by researcher Wang Weishan from the Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, the team led by Professor Zhang Lixin from East China University of Science and Technology, the team led by researcher Li Shanshan from the Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and Hebei Xingbai Pharmaceutical - collaborated to publish a long-form scientific research paper online in Nature Biotechnology. They systematically developed a novel avermectin-like drug, Baiweimectin, with superior nematocidal activity, and achieved high-purity biomanufacturing.
The collaborative team has further developed a specific high-purity production strain with independent intellectual property rights, achieving a fermentation yield of 8.4g/L (on a 120-ton scale). Currently, Baiwei霉素 is being simultaneously applied for pesticide registration certificates both domestically and internationally. The economic losses caused by nematode diseases in China amount to as much as 80 billion yuan annually. As a nematocide biopesticide with independent intellectual property rights, Baiwei霉素 is of great significance for safeguarding agricultural production.
Avermectin active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) are highly effective and low-toxic biological insecticides produced through microbial fermentation. They are of great significance for ensuring the safety of China's food and agricultural products, animal husbandry, and medical health. 200 million Africans have been spared from river blindness due to the Avermectin APIs produced in China. In 2024, the global market for Avermectin reached US$1.371 billion.
The "International Alliance for Avermectin Industry-University-Research Collaboration" was established in 2018, bringing together five national key laboratories, one national biochemical engineering research center, one provincial-level microbial active product engineering research center, and several leading enterprises in the avermectin fermentation industry. The alliance focuses on joint research to address the significant industry needs, such as the mechanisms of avermectin resistance. Professor Zhang Lixin, co-chair of the alliance, has previously achieved the highest yield of avermectin biosynthesis (9.3g/L) using synthetic biology technology. This technology was transferred to three leading enterprises, and in 2016, they jointly won the second prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award.
Based on this achievement, the alliance is currently focusing on technological innovation in the biological manufacturing of new avermectin drugs such as ivermectin and doramectin, striving to seize the commanding heights of biological manufacturing for this class of drugs. The successful example of intelligent biological manufacturing of avermectin raw materials will also provide useful theories, ideas, and methods for the intelligent manufacturing of other active natural products, variety improvement, energy conservation and emission reduction, and industrial upgrading in China.
