An indoor insecticide intervention to reduce allergen exposure and improve health outcomes for children with asthma in underserved communities

The National Institute for Minority Health and Health Disparities awarded Nanometics LLC $314,363 on August 5, 2026, under the Minority Health and Health Disparities Research program (CFDA 93.307) to develop an amorphous deltamethrin powder formulation for cockroach elimination as an allergen-specific intervention targeting asthma in underserved communities.

The recipient is developing a novel solid-form insecticide product containing 0.05% amorphous deltamethrin adsorbed onto an inert powder. Unlike commercial solid formulations that contain only the less-active Form I crystal polymorph and face resistance in modern cockroach populations, the amorphous formulation demonstrates significantly improved lethality against both deltamethrin-susceptible and field-collected resistant German cockroach strains. The company has established an inexpensive manufacturing method and completed an EPA pre-submission meeting to confirm data requirements for obtaining an Experimental Use Permit and conducting field testing. The product will be marketed as a cockroach-directed intervention to reduce allergen exposure and improve asthma health outcomes, targeting a disease that affects millions of American children and generates over $21 billion in annual exacerbation-related healthcare costs.

The award period runs through July 31, 2027, with place of performance in La Jolla, California.

Abstract

Significance: asthma is the most common chronic illness among american children, with exacerbation-related healthcare costs exceeding $21 billion annually. German cockroach exposure is a potent and independent trigger in sensitized children, eliciting IGE responses at lower concentrations than other indoor allergens. Expert panel reports, asthma management guidelines, the NIH inner-city asthma study, and multiple real-world studies support cockroach elimination strategies to improve asthma health outcomes in underserved communities. The product: deltamethrin (DM) is an active ingredient found in numerous commercial products, but all commercial solid formulations only contain the form i crystal polymorph, which is widely ineffective against modern cockroach populations due to resistance. The sbir product contains 0.05% amorphous DM, the most active solid form, adsorbed onto an inert and widely used powder. IT is being developed as an allergen-specific intervention to improve asthma outcomes in underserved populations and will be sold as a cockroach-directed product. Innovation: manipulating solid forms of contact insecticides to enhance activity is a commercially unexploited strategy that provides a novel approach to overcoming resistance and reducing asthma morbidity. Preliminary studies: in response to reviewer critiques, PHD scientists developed a new, inexpensive method to make the product and demonstrated significantly improved lethality relative to a market-leading commercial benchmark when tested against both DM-susceptible (UCR) and field-collected DM-resistant (ryan) strains of german cockroaches. An EPA pre-submission meeting confirmed the data requirements necessary to obtain an experimental use permit (EUP) and conduct field testing, while an updated market analysis complimented national science foundation sponsored market research and confirmed the commercial feasibility of the product, with competitive pricing achievable using the new manufacturing process. The long-term goal is the registration of the product to address a strategic priority of the nimhd by targeting cockroach allergen exposure, an established primary driver of asthma morbidity in underserved communities. Specific aim 1. Demonstrate the product performance of enhanced perlite against cockroaches to satisfy data requirements for an EUP. Studies will demonstrate the feasibility that the product is broadly efficacious against german cockroaches that are resistant to DM and commercial baits and satisfy EUP product performance data requirements. Success criterion: demonstration of a significant reduction in mean survival time for at least 3 of 5 resistant cockroach strains relative to a commercial benchmark. Expected outcomes: significant reduction in mean survival in ≥3 strains and 100% mortality by 72 h in all strains. Commercial application: the initial market includes customers that purchase >500,000 pounds of DM- containing cockroach control powders annually, and peak annual revenues are projected at more than $20 MIL.