Gene Drive Explained: How It Works, Why It Matters, and What the Regulations Say

By Janine Cyren Escasura

ISAAA November 26, 2025

In 2024, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that more than 17% of the global burden of infectious diseases is due to vector-borne diseases. Over 700,000 deaths are recorded annually, and more than 3.9 billion people are at risk of contracting dengue, the most prevalent viral infection transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes.

In the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) report in September 2023, the global cost of invasive species is over $423 billion per year and this amount has quadrupled every decade since 1970. Invasive mammals, such as mice, rats, rabbits, feral pigs, feral cats, and foxes, cost Australia US$20.19 billion from 1960 to 2017 and have been the major driver for almost all the 34 mammalian extinctions in the country since 1788.

Held on November 20, 2025, ISAAA Inc., in partnership with the Outreach Network for Gene Drive Research, organized a webinar titled Gene Drive Technologies: Advances in Health, Conservation, and Governance, which gathered over 122 participants and a panel of experts to discuss the potential of gene drive technology in addressing health and environmental challenges brought about by mosquitoes and invasive species.

See https://www.isaaa.org/blog/entry/default.asp?BlogDate=11/26/2025