History of Senestech

Established in the autumn of 2002, the SenesTech story begins with our co-founder and Chairman of the Board, Loretta P. Mayer, Ph.D.  In December 2000 Dr. Mayer was awarded her Ph.D. in Biology from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona. The following January Dr. Mayer accepted a post-doctoral position at the University of Arizona’s Department of Physiology.

The Department of Physiology laboratory, under the direction of Dr. Patricia B. Hoyer, had been investigating the basic science in model research development and ovarian toxicology mechanisms by which the occupational chemical 4-vinylcyclohexene diepoxide (VCD) selectively depletes small primordial and primary follicles in the ovaries of mice and rats for 17 years. While at the University of Arizona Dr. Mayer expanded the research to an applied to technology by determining the dosing regimen required to produce results for complete elimination of primordial and primary follicles. Primordial and primary follicle pools in the ovary are non-renewable therefore, elimination of these follicle types results in irreversible ovarian failure (sterility).  Drs. Hoyer and Mayer’s studies have shown that VCD-induced premature ovarian failure in mice results in an endocrine state that mimics conditions of human peri- and post-menopause.

With this new discovery the possibilities for application of this knowledge became overwhelming.  For the first time an animal model was developed that mimicked menopause without the removal of ovaries, unlike the ovariectomized mice model. In collaboration with SenesTech President and Director Dr. Cheryl Dyer, further studies demonstrated the follicle-deplete ovary produced hormones that are relevant to model perimenopause. This new model would allow researchers to study menopausal pathologies in an animal model which more- closely mimics human.

In the summer of 2002, SenesTech was formed as an L.L.C. in the state of Arizona. In 2004 we incorporated as SenesTech, Inc., a Nevada corporation and acquired the assets of SenesTech LLC which was later dissolved. Our technology is patented by the University of Arizona in New Zealand, Australia and the United States, is patent pending in the European Union and is licensed exclusively to SenesTech world-wide.

In addition to work being done in mice, other mammalian models are being developed. “The work being done in domesticated animals is amazing,” said Dr. Mayer. “By applying this technology to other animal models we will be able to develop a non-surgical, non-invasive sterilization product.” This new product would serve as an alternative to surgically spaying female animals, lowering the risk of post-surgical infection and complications, and provide a safe cost-effective method of humane animal population management.

To pursue the development of a non-surgical chemical sterilization product, the science team of SenesTech has been working on the Navajo Reservation to address the serious problem of feral dogs. To date proof-of-concept studies have shown that the active ingredient is efficacious and safe in dogs.

In 2007 we began applying our revolutionary technology to the control of the Southeast Asian Rice Rat in order to increase rice production. We believe that with the application of our product, ContraPest™, we will be able to feed at least an additional 380 million people annually within three to four years. SenesTech is developing strategic partnerships with international industry partners, non-profit institutions, and universities to accelerate the translation of its platform technology into marketable products by 2011.