SNAP ANALYSIS
Investment in needle free vaccines could significantly reduce infectious disease
19 May 2023: Positive results announced by Micron Biomedical earlier this week stated that a measles and rubella vaccine patch has completed a Phase 1/2 clinical trial. These are exciting results which show, for the first time, the potential for vaccine patch to safely and effectively deliver vaccines to children.
Needle-free vaccine technology has the potential to transform immunisation and reach everyone everywhere. This is especially important in the case of measles and rubella as high vaccination coverage globally is needed to prevent measles outbreaks and coverage has receded significantly in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Vaccine microarray patches (vaccine-MAPs), also known as microneedle patches, consist of microscopic projections that are applied to the body like a small bandage, painlessly penetrating the skin’s outermost layer to deliver a vaccine.
Vaccine-MAPs are expected to be easier to deploy than traditional vaccines, making them well-suited to delivery in hard-to-reach settings or for rapid deployment of protective vaccines in future epidemics or pandemics.
Gavi and its partners, WHO, UNICEF, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Path, CEPI and the US Department of Defence and Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority are calling for investments to fund pilot-scale manufacturing facilities and late-stage clinical trials to accelerate its availability.
Dr. Derrick Sim, Managing Director, Vaccine Markets & Health Security at Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, commented:
“Vaccine patches have the potential to transform immunisation, especially in lower income countries where health infrastructure is less well developed. With these very encouraging clinical trial results, now is the perfect time for us all to step in and set us on a pathway for introducing this technology platform for measles and rubella, and a range of epidemic and endemic vaccines in the future.”
Further reading:
Vaccines Work article: Goodbye syringe? Measles and rubella patch demonstrates its worth in Gambia vaccine trial.
Vaccines Work article: Needle-free vaccines could be available within five years, but investment is needed
Please feel free to quote.
For further comments, questions, or interviews: media@gavi.org
Notes for editors:
Dr Derrick Sim is a medical doctor and global expert in building healthy vaccine markets to ensure access in lower-income countries. Read more about Dr Sim here.
For expert insights and original content and stories from around the world, visit Gavi’s online digital platform VaccinesWork.
About Gavi:
Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is a public-private partnership that helps vaccinate half the world’s children against some of the world’s deadliest diseases. Since its inception in 2000, Gavi has helped to immunise a whole generation – over 981 million children – and prevented more than 16.2 million future deaths, helping to halve child mortality in 73 lower-income countries. Gavi also plays a key role in improving global health security by supporting health systems as well as funding global stockpiles for Ebola, cholera, meningococcal and yellow fever vaccines. After two decades of progress, Gavi is now focused on protecting the next generation, above all the zero-dose children who have not received even a single vaccine shot. The Vaccine Alliance employs innovative finance and the latest technology – from drones to biometrics – to save millions more lives, prevent outbreaks before they can spread and help countries on the road to self-sufficiency. Learn more at www.gavi.org and connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.
Gavi is a co-convener of COVAX, the vaccines pillar of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, together with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF. In its role, Gavi is focused on procurement and delivery for COVAX: coordinating the design, implementation and administration of the COVAX Facility and the Gavi COVAX AMC and working with its Alliance partners UNICEF and WHO, along with governments, on country readiness and delivery.
The Vaccine Alliance brings together developing country and donor governments, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank, the vaccine industry, technical agencies, civil society, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other private sector partners. View the full list of donor governments and other leading organisations that fund Gavi’s work here.
