According to Bloomberg, University of Queensland scientists have tested a Covid vaccine patch that delivers a pain-free dose and removes the need for cold chain transport.

“We’ve been able to stabilize the vaccine on the patch for at least a month at room temperature.”

– University of Queensland Scientists (source: Bloomberg)

According to University of Queensland (UQ), its researchers successfully delivered “the University of Texas Hexapro vaccine candidate – delivered via the UQ-developed and Vaxxas-commercialized high-density microarray patch (HD-MAP) – (which) provided protection against COVID-19 disease with a single, pain-free ‘click’ from a pocket-sized applicator”.

Vaxxas, is Brisbane, Australia based biotechnology company, which is ‘commercializing novel technology that dramatically enhances the performance of existing and next-generation vaccines’.

The vaccine patch produced strong immune responses that were shown to be effective when the mice were exposed to SARS-CoV-2 – the virus that causes COVID-19.

– Dr. David Muller, from UQ’s School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences (source: SciTechDaily)

Dr. Muller added:

• “When the Hexapro vaccine is delivered via HD-MAP applicator – rather than a needle – it produces better and faster immune responses.
• “It also neutralizes multiple variants, including the UK and South Africa variants.
• “And it’s much more user-friendly than a needle – you simply ‘click’ an applicator on the skin, and 5000 microscopic projections almost-imperceptibly deliver vaccine into the skin.”

Michael Junger, Vaxxas head of medical device and process engineering, told Brisbane-based ABC radio that the company was planning to conduct the human trials next year.

Dr Lara Herrero, an infectious diseases expert at Griffith University, told Australian News that “this patch technology was ‘quite revolutionary‘ for worldwide vaccine delivery in general, because it was not invasive and it did not require cold storage”.

• Australian biotech firm Vaxxas set for clinical trials of needle-free vaccine patches
• Needle-free vaccine patches coming soon, say researchers and makers
• Needle-Free COVID-19 Vaccine Shows Promise – Protection via a Single Pain-Free “Click”

How the Technology Works?

According to the Australian news, the Vaxxas’ ” ‘high-density microarray patch‘ technology has thousands of vaccine-coated microprojections that are applied to the skin for a few seconds to efficiently deliver the vaccine to the immune cells immediately below the skin surface”.

There is a sensation because we have to apply the patch at speed to breach the skin with such a dense array. […] You get a better quality of immune response compared with using a syringe.

– Michael Junger of Vaxxes (source: abc.net.au)

Dr. Herrero added “I think it’s critical for Australia to be on top of all new technologies and scientific advancements protecting not just Australians but the world. I think time will tell whether or not this technology provides a more robust and specific immune response for SARS-CoV-2 but there are viruses naturally transmitted through breaks in skin that this technology — it’s almost certain this is the best for.”