Sbir phase i: accelerated discovery of species-specific sterilizing viral biopesticides

The National Science Foundation awarded Lepidext, Inc. $305,000 on July 1, 2026, under the NSF Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program (CFDA 47.084) to accelerate discovery of species-specific sterilizing viral biopesticides as an alternative to chemical pest control.

Lepidext will develop methods to systematically discover and isolate naturally occurring insect viruses for biocontrol applications, addressing the current bottleneck in biological pest management where viable agents are detected only through chance observation of natural outbreaks. The work targets corn earworm and other agricultural pests, leveraging the company's proprietary InsterushZ technology platform, which uses sexually transmitted viruses to sterilize adult insect populations. Success would enable a scalable platform for targeted pest suppression across diverse crops and regions, reducing farmer reliance on chemical inputs that create residues, harm beneficial insects, and face resistance buildup.

Performance occurs in Lexington, Kentucky from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027. This is a Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project addressing sustainable agriculture, food security, and rural economic stability through reduced input costs and improved crop reliability.

Abstract

The broader/commercial impact of this small business innovation research (sbir) phase i project is to provide farmers with viable alternatives to chemical pesticides by transforming how biological pest control agents are discovered and developed. Current pest management relies heavily on chemicals that leave residues in food and water, harm beneficial insects, and lose effectiveness as pests develop resistance. This project seeks to harness naturally occurring, species-specific biocontrol agents that currently go undetected by conventional methods, offering targeted, sustained pest suppression without the drawbacks of chemical inputs. By reducing reliance on chemicals, this approach supports sustainable agriculture and improves economic stability for farmers facing rising control costs and increasing crop losses. Reducing resistant pest populations also extends the longevity of valuable crop traits, protecting broader agricultural biotechnology investments. This work enhances scientific understanding of the biological solutions that already exist in natural systems, with implications beyond agriculture, including public health and other pest management contexts. If successful, IT would enable a scalable platform for targeted pest control across diverse crops and regions, supporting food security, strengthening rural economies through reduced input costs and improved crop reliability, and opening new commercial markets for crop protection products developed without chemical pesticides. The initial crop of interest is corn, which represents a large market with significant growth potential. The proposed project addresses the critical bottleneck in biocontrol development: the inability to systematically discover and isolate viable insect viruses for pest management applications. Current approaches rely on chance observations of naturally occurring outbreaks, or discovering symptomatic insects during unrelated research, limiting discovery of potential biological control agents that are largely asymptomatic in natural populations. This project develops an integrated platform that combines molecular surveillance of field populations, novel amplification methods, and targeted molecular techniques to make previously unusable viruses into biocontrol candidates. The research objectives are to establish molecular detection methods for identifying viral presence in moth populations, develop scalable propagation systems for viruses that have not previously been isolated, and establish molecular approaches for inducing infection states suitable for biocontrol. The anticipated results include validated protocols for systematic biocontrol agent discovery, reproducible methods for pathogen isolation and amplification from field-collected specimens, and demonstrated activation of previously inaccessible biocontrol agents. Success will produce a systematic framework that transforms biocontrol development from a reactive, chance-dependent process into a proactive, targeted discovery platform that can be applied across multiple agricultural pest species. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.- subawards are not planned for this award.