09.25.23
New field testing shows Guardian, a spatial repellent made by SC Johnson, is demonstrating what the privately-held company is calling “game-changing efficacy of one year.”
Spatial repellents are easy-to-use products that can be hung in semi-enclosed spaces (including homes, schools and humanitarian settings) to repel mosquitoes.
“Guardian’s efficacy rate of one year is a game-changer because it covers multiple rainy seasons, when people are at higher risk for mosquito-borne disease,” said SC Johnson Chairman and CEO, Fisk Johnson. “We think we can make a big difference in eradicating malaria on this planet and we are making progress. We are hopeful that having a long-lasting tool you can hang in your home, and combine with other measures, will help significantly in this fight.”
As SC Johnson works to obtain a World Health Organization (WHO) policy recommendation, which would make spatial repellents one of the first new recommended malaria prevention tools in 25 years, the company is giving Guardian to at-risk populations through global public health partners.
SC Johnson is set to start large-scale spatial repellent manufacturing in Kenya in 2024.
“There are over a billion people that would benefit from mosquito protection in an easy-to-use form,” said Richard Allen, Director of The MENTOR Initiative, a partner of SC Johnson that works in high-risk and humanitarian settings to prevent malaria. “People want a tool they can take off the shelf, unpack it, hang it up themselves and know that it will work. Frankly, SC Johnson’s is the first tool I've seen in 36 years that has the promise of doing that."
“We know we can’t rest,” said Johnson. “We have a whole team dedicated to malaria. The development of this spatial repellent tool has never had a profit motive. This is about bringing our resources, capability, and expertise to fight against an insidious disease.”
Spatial repellents are easy-to-use products that can be hung in semi-enclosed spaces (including homes, schools and humanitarian settings) to repel mosquitoes.
“Guardian’s efficacy rate of one year is a game-changer because it covers multiple rainy seasons, when people are at higher risk for mosquito-borne disease,” said SC Johnson Chairman and CEO, Fisk Johnson. “We think we can make a big difference in eradicating malaria on this planet and we are making progress. We are hopeful that having a long-lasting tool you can hang in your home, and combine with other measures, will help significantly in this fight.”
As SC Johnson works to obtain a World Health Organization (WHO) policy recommendation, which would make spatial repellents one of the first new recommended malaria prevention tools in 25 years, the company is giving Guardian to at-risk populations through global public health partners.
SC Johnson is set to start large-scale spatial repellent manufacturing in Kenya in 2024.
“There are over a billion people that would benefit from mosquito protection in an easy-to-use form,” said Richard Allen, Director of The MENTOR Initiative, a partner of SC Johnson that works in high-risk and humanitarian settings to prevent malaria. “People want a tool they can take off the shelf, unpack it, hang it up themselves and know that it will work. Frankly, SC Johnson’s is the first tool I've seen in 36 years that has the promise of doing that."
SC Johnson's Brands
SC Johnson, which was ranked No. 4 in Happi’s 2023 Top 50 Report, is home to household pest brands such as Raid, Off! and Baygon as well as Glade, Windex, Scrubbing Bubbles and Mrs. Meyers, among others. The company’s Center for Insect Science and Family Health in Racine, WI, is one of the world’s largest privately-funded urban entomology centers.“We know we can’t rest,” said Johnson. “We have a whole team dedicated to malaria. The development of this spatial repellent tool has never had a profit motive. This is about bringing our resources, capability, and expertise to fight against an insidious disease.”