Needle-free pandemic influenza vaccine sees preclinical proof-of-concept

pharmafile | May 4, 2021 | News story | Manufacturing and Production, Sales and Marketing Vaccine technology 

Enesi Pharma, a US biotechnology company developing novel vaccination products, announced the development of a solid-dose recombinant H7N9 pandemic influenza vaccine which has delivered proof-of-concept results in validated preclinical models.

The project to develop needle-free vaccines was part of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority’s ‘Beyond the Needle’ initiative, which is focused on developing alternative technologies that aim to transform the paradigm of making vaccines and therapeutics easier to administer and more widely available, without the need for needles, syringes, vials, and cold-chain distribution burdens.

Using the company’s ImplaVax technology, Enesi successfully developed a number of unit solid-dose formulations, with and without adjuvant, of the recombinant H7N9 pandemic influenza vaccine.

The vaccine is delivered via a Universal Vaccine Implant, which is pre-loaded during manufacturing, and is administered transcutaneously 2.5 – 7mm into the dermis with a spring-loaded actuator that is needle-free.

In the project the ImplaVax unit solid-dose formulations generated encouraging and comparable immune responses to conventional liquid vaccine delivered intramuscularly with a needle and syringe, both in terms of antibody induction and seroconversion rates in validated animal immunogenicity models.

David Hipkiss, Enesi Pharma CEO, said: “We are extremely pleased with the outcome of this successful partnership with BARDA DRIVe.

“In demonstrating preclinical proof-of-concept with an ImplaVax-enabled solid dose pandemic flu vaccine we have established a firm foundation for its further development that could lead to needle-free, vial-free, thermally stable, easy to deploy, unit solid-dose flu vaccine products to support key governmental health directives.

“We look forward to reporting the outcomes of our multiple collaborations in which we are applying our novel ImplaVax technology to other strategically important vaccines that aim to address significant diseases and make a positive difference to the lives of millions of people around the world.”

Kat Jenkins

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