Grant: Collaborative Health Research Projects (NSERC partnered)

Common "killed" microbe vaccines such as hepatitis vaccine, must be given repeatedly to be effective. Influenza vaccine must be given yearly. This is costly and inconvenient. In recent work we have shown that vaccines can be incorporated into dissolving spheres that release bursts of vaccine in the skin at timed intervals. We will use this system to obtain the same effect as repeated administration, but with a single administration. The spheres will be delivered into the skin painlessly using new microscopic hollow needles that allow painless administration. We plan to optimize this new method of vaccination by combining the skills of an immunologist, a pharmacy scientist, a mechanical engineer and a clinical vaccinologist. The projected advantages of this new vaccine system are lowered cost, pain free administration, and increased efficacy