Australia's first vaccine patch manufacturing facility opens in Queensland
19 Jun 2023 01:21pm
Picture for illustrative purposes - National Institute of Health
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SYDNEY Australia - Australia's first vaccine patch manufacturing plant officially opened on Monday at Northshore Hamilton Priority Development Area in the state of Queensland.
The state government of Queensland announced in a statement that the new facility, operated by biotechnology company Vaxxas, is expected to produce millions of needle-free vaccine patches in the next three to five years, reported Xinhua.
Unlike traditional needle-and-syringe delivery, the new vaccine patch technology can deposit a vaccine through the surface of the skin in just seconds.
"This world-renowned technology has the potential to play a vital role in pandemic-preparedness, because it allows vaccines to be deployed quickly and easily to our communities," said Queensland's Deputy Premier Steven Miles.
Vaxxas Chief Executive Officer David Hoey revealed that with several completed human clinical trials involving more than 500 participants, the Australian Phase I clinical studies for COVID-19 and seasonal influenza are underway.
"We expect to manufacture and distribute the first commercially available needle-free vaccine patches from this Queensland facility within three to five years," Hoey added.
In July last year, researchers from the University of Queensland tested the efficacy of Vaxxas' high-density microarray patch technology in COVID-19-infected mice.
Their findings, published in the Vaccine journal, indicated that vaccination via a patch has advantages in inducing high levels of neutralising antibodies, while also demonstrating its potential to provide protection from emerging viral variants - BERNAMA
