Industrializing vaccine stabilization technology

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Our laboratory has recently identified a simple method to stabilize vaccines by storing them as films made of sugar-polymers, so that they can be stored without the need for refrigeration. By contrast, today's vaccines are unstable and need to be stored and transported in constant refrigeration - a very complex logistical problem commonly referred to as the "cold chain". Our breakthrough has attracted the attention of the media, investors and the vaccine manufacturers. We all see immense possibility to change how all vaccines are distributed globally, both in the developed world and the most remote areas of the developing world - a single solution for all. Maintaining a cold chain accounts for a substantial portion of the overall cost of vaccination. Limitedcapacity of the cold chain in remote areas of the world makes vaccination less accessible where it is needed the most to prevent epidemic spreading of infectious diseases. These remote areas typically have unreliable (or non-existent) power grids - this limits the ability to deliver vaccines to the most vulnerable children in the world, as these vaccines can be exposed to elevated temperatures for protracted periods of time leading toaccelerated thermal degradation.The next step toward fulfilling this vision is to demonstrate its applicability to commercial vaccines and prepare for large scale manufacturing. To fulfill this, the three main goals of the this proposal are (1) adapting the technology to commercially available vaccines and we will use three major vaccines to show this (MMR,Prevnar® 13 and flu vaccines); (2) to show that the technology enables the creating of different forms to present the vaccines - as films, pills, powders, granules, powders and coatings - this will provide large scale vaccine producers the flexibility to create new products; and (3) to develop a strategy and process to bring this technology to the market.We will take these steps in constant dialogue with the world's leading vaccine manufactures to ensure the biggest impact possible.