For those who are afraid of NEEDLES
Vaccination against Covid-19 was tested using a skin patch and its applicator. (Hung Vu/AFP)
Since the start of the Covid pandemic, researchers have stepped up their efforts to develop patches that deliver life-saving drugs to the skin without the use of needles, a development that could revolutionize medicine.
The technique could help people who are afraid of syringes and save children's tears in doctor's offices.
Skin patches could also help with vaccine distribution because they don't require a cold chain, and they may even improve vaccine efficacy.
A new mouse study published in Science Advances showed promising results in this area.
The Australian-American team used one-square-centimeter patches dotted with over 5,000 microscopic spikes that were "so small you can't see them," according to David Muller, a virologist at the University of Queensland and co-author of the paper.
These tips have been coated with an experimental vaccine, and the patch is applied with a hockey puck-shaped applicator. "It's like getting a good flick on the skin," Muller explained.
The researchers used a vaccine known as a "subunit," which mimics the coronavirus's spikes on the surface.
Mice were injected with a syringe or through a patch over a two-minute period.
The researchers also discovered that a subset of mice who received only one dose of vaccine containing an adjuvant, a substance that boosts immune response, "didn't get sick at all," according to Muller.
- Simple to use -
What is it about them that makes them more effective?
Vaccines are typically injected into our muscles, but muscle tissue lacks the immune cells required to respond to the drug, according to Muller.
Furthermore, the tiny spikes cause localized skin death, signaling a problem and triggering a stronger immune response.
The logistical advantages for the scientist are unmistakable.
First, the vaccine is stable for at least 30 days at 25 degrees Celsius (77 degrees Fahrenheit) and one week at 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) when dry-coated on a patch, compared to a few hours at room temperature for the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines.
This is a huge benefit, especially for developing countries.
Second, "it's very easy to use," according to Muller. "It doesn't have to be delivered by highly trained medical professionals."
Burak Ozdoganlar, an engineering professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has been working on the technology since 2007.
Another advantage, he says, is that "a smaller amount of vaccine delivered precisely to the skin can activate an immune response similar to intramuscular injection." It's a crucial factor because the developing world is having trouble getting enough Covid vaccine.
Ozdoganlar's lab can produce 300-400 patches per day, but he hasn't been able to test them on mRNA vaccines, which have become popular during the pandemic, because he hasn't been given permission by Pfizer or Moderna.
- 'What the future holds' -
Micron Biomedical and Vaxess are two other American companies competing in the race.
The latter, which was founded in 2013 and is based in Massachusetts, is developing a patch with microneedles that dissolve in the skin.
They claim that this method has the advantage of requiring fewer spikes per patch (only 121), which are made of a biocompatible protein polymer.
CEO Michael Schrader told AFP, "We're working on a seasonal Covid and flu combination product that will be mailed directly to patients' homes for self-administration."
The Covid vaccine they're using is made by Medigen, which is already licensed in Taiwan.
With funding from the US National Institutes of Health, Vaxess has just opened a factory near Boston. They hope to make enough patches to vaccinate 2,000 to 3,000 people in clinical trials beginning next summer.
The main issue right now is production, as no manufacturer has yet been able to mass-produce enough patches.
"To launch a vaccine, you need to produce hundreds of millions," Schrader explained. "As of today, we don't have that scale — no one has that scale."
However, he added, the pandemic has given a boost to the fledgling industry, which is now attracting more investors.
"This is the future, and it is, in my opinion, unavoidable," Schrader said. "I believe that over the next ten years, this (will) dramatically reshape the way that we obtain vaccines all over the world."
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