Grant Makes Needle-Free Vaccine a Reality

Nanopatch, a needle-free vaccine delivery system, is a step closer to reality after a consortium of investors donated $15 million to aid the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology in developing it. Nanopatch has thousands of small projections to deliver vaccines to abundant immune cells in the skin, doing away with needles inserted into muscle, where there are few immune cells. Early stage testing in animals has shown that a nanopatch-delivered flu vaccine is effective with only 1/150th of the dose compared with a syringe.

In addition to being more effective, the nanopatch is expected to reduce needle stick injuries and cross-contamination, and it does not need refrigeration like traditional vaccines, which could cut costs and make transportation easier. “In Africa, about half of vaccines aren’t working properly because of a breakdown in the cold chain,” says Mark Kendall, a professor at the institute. Money from Australia’s federal government’s innovation investment fund has helped establish the new company, Vaxxas, which will commercialize the vaccine.