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…

Call for homegrown medicine production as penicillin imports dry up

A critical shortage of an essential penicillin medication is highlighting Australia’s vulnerability in pharmaceutical manufacturing, according to a new report published in the Medical Journal of Australia on Monday. The medication, benzathine benzylpenicillin G (BPG), is vital for treating syphilis and preventing rheumatic heart disease, conditions that disproportionately affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.…