Brisbane biotech Vaxxas secures US patent for needle-free vaccine technology

Brisbane-based clinical-stage biotechnology company Vaxxas secured a new patent from the United States patent office covering its proprietary manufacturing technology for needle-free vaccine patches, the company announced on Wednesday.

The patent covers Vaxxas’ printhead system that dispenses dried vaccine formulations onto the company’s high-density microarray patch (HD-MAP), which features thousands of microscopic projections on a small patch.

“The printhead system has been specifically designed to coat the HD-MAP with vaccines in an aseptic environment that complies with government regulations for clinical and commercial manufacturing of vaccines,” said Dr Scott Fry, Vaxxas Chief Operating Officer.

Fry noted that the system enables coating at high speed to achieve large volumes while maintaining product quality. “The precision by which the printhead system coats the vaccine onto each microprojection is quite incredible,” he said.

The patent adds to Vaxxas’ international intellectual property portfolio of 43 issued patents across the United States, Europe, Asia and Australia. This portfolio covers manufacturing and use of the HD-MAP technology, vaccine formulations, and methods for formulating and coating vaccines.

“Vaxxas is aiming to transform the vaccine market by improving the performance of vaccines and reducing the economic and logistical challenges typically associated with needle-and-syringe vaccination,” said David Hoey, Vaxxas Chief Executive Officer.

The company is scaling up to manufacture the world’s first commercially available vaccine patches from its Brisbane headquarters. Vaxxas’ technology has completed five Phase I clinical trials involving over 500 participants with vaccines for COVID-19, flu, measles and rubella.

Preliminary results from a recently completed US-funded Phase I clinical study for a pre-pandemic influenza vaccine are expected in June.

Picture: supplied