The quest to improve vaccination efforts in developing nations by Swindon based scientists may yield huge side benefits to the industrialized world - an end to needle injections.
Scientists from Catalent, based in Frankland Road, Swindon, have developed a quick dissolving tablet they hope can provide an option to replace some needle injections for vaccination.
The development has clear benefits in the efforts to vaccinate impoverished populations in remote corners of the world. Currently, many vaccines require a “cold-chain” so their temperature is maintained constantly by refrigeration throughout delivery. The need for a cold chain is a serious obstacle in trying to reach regions where refrigeration isn’t available, and where temperatures are often higher.
Recently published in the journal Vaccine, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Health Professor Bruce Lee, M.D. reports of a significant economic advantage in developing temperature stable vaccines.
As part of an effort to eliminate the cold chain, scientists using temperature stable Zydis® technology are customizing their formulations and say they are on the cutting edge of manufacturing vaccine doses that dissolve on the tongue within a few seconds, eliminating the need for needle injections, which can also pose challenges for maintaining sterility in some environments.
Research and development is currently being conducted at Catalent’s laboratories in Swindon, where chemists have already been successful in developing commercial platforms for treatments such as immunotherapy for allergy relief.
A documentary on the need for improved vaccination deployment is in development at White Coat Productions, a video content creation firm based in the USA.
[embed]https://vimeo.com/227783144[/embed]
Your Comments
Be the first to comment on this article
Login or Register to post a comment on this article