Skin patch COVID vaccine may prove more effective than injections
pharmafile | November 1, 2021 | News story | Sales and Marketing |
A COVID vaccine skin patch is on course for its first human trial by the University of Queensland in partnership with Vaxxas. It may prove more effective, survive longer storage times, and provide a useful alternative for those afraid of needles.
Scientists from the University of Queensland have successfully developed a method that can deliver vaccines using a pain-free, needle-free patch, which after application to the skin, applies thousands of microscopic projections. The centimetre-wide patch is dotted with 5000 tiny plastic spikes, each a quarter of a millimetre long and coated with dried vaccine, more stable than liquid forms. The patch is applied painlessly to the skin, though it does produce a sensation when pressed against the skin.
Early results to the studies suggest that the technology may also produce a stronger immune response than injections.
Dr David Muller, lead researcher at the University of Queensland’s School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences has said that initial testing has shown “better and faster immune responses”, also neutralising multiple variants including those detected in the UK and South Africa.
Muller and his colleagues have spent years developing a skin patch that can deliver influenza, polio, dengue, and other vaccines requiring needles or cold storage.
The technology also promises to be self-administered, to vaccinate in an individual and single dose, and stored at a range of temperatures, including room temperature. This development makes the vaccine suitable for use in locations that lack cold storage facilities and medical staff. Muller states this provides “resource-limited settings” with “an alternative that would be stable enough to go that last mile”.
A shelf-stable, easily applicable and effective vaccine may ensure that booster vaccines increase uptake, and maintain immunity, should the virus become endemic.
Ana Ovey
