A MICRONEEDLE PATCH CONTAINING MEASLES VACCINE IS IMMUNOGENIC IN NON-HUMAN PRIMATES

Edens C¹, Collins ML², Goodson JL³, Rota PA⁴, Prausnitz MR⁵.

Author information

• ¹Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA.
• ²National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Division of Viral Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA.
• ³Center for Global Health, Global Immunization Division, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA.
• ⁴National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Division of Viral Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA. Electronic address: par1@cdc.gov.
• ⁵Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA; School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA. Electronic address: prausnitz@gatech.edu.

Vaccine. 2015 Mar 12. pii: S0264-410X(15)00285-6. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2015.02.074. [Epub ahead of print]

Abstract

Very high vaccination coverage is required to eliminate measles, but achieving high coverage can be constrained by the logistical challenges associated with subcutaneous injection. To simplify the logistics of vaccine delivery, a patch containing micron-scale polymeric needles was formulated to encapsulate the standard dose of measles vaccine (1000 TCID₅₀) and the immunogenicity of the microneedle patch was compared with subcutaneous injection in rhesus macaques. The microneedle patch was administered without reconstitution with diluent, dissolved in skin within 10min, and caused only mild, transient skin erythema. Both groups of rhesus macaques generated neutralizing antibody responses to measles that were consistent with protection and the neutralizing antibody titers were equivalent. In addition, the microneedle patches maintained an acceptable level of potency after storage at elevated temperature suggesting improved thermostability compared to standard lyophilized vaccine. In conclusion, a measles microneedle patch vaccine was immunogenic in non-human primates, and this approach offers a promising delivery method that could help increase vaccination coverage.

Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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