The 24th of October 2022 was World Polio Day, which draws attention to the continued global fight against polio. This year, PharmaJet, the developer of a needle-free delivery platform, announced that it had received a multi-year grant from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Polio project
The grant total comes to $1.5 million. This will contribute to the evaluation of the effect of intradermal (ID) vaccine administration using the Tropis Needle-free Injection System (NFIS). A comparative study between “standard intramuscular delivery using needle and syringe (N/S)” and the Tropis platform will measure “vaccine coverage and cost” for fractional inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV).
Fractional dose IPV (FIPV) was previously only delivered through the Mantoux method, using “traditional N/S”. This can be “difficult, slow, and painful”. Furthermore, it demands a high level of training for healthcare workers.
In collaboration with local governments and Jhpeigo, PATH, and Sydani Group, PharmaJet intends to conduct a stratified-pair, cluster randomised study.
Tropis
Tropis is a hand-held device. It delivers a “pressurised liquid stream without a needle”. Previous studies have demonstrated “cost savings, ease and consistency of delivery, and the ability to extend limited vaccine stocks”. It is also proven to increase vaccination coverage compared to “historical N/S” delivery.
Paul LaBarre is VP of Global Business development at PharmaJet, and the Principal Investigator of the study. He hopes this study will be seen as a restatement of PharmaJet’s “commitment” to wider global efforts against polio.
“We are pleased to receive this grant from USAID Development Innovation Ventures. It is a great privilege to be working with PATH, Jhpiego, and Sydani Group on this important work.”
For more on PharmaJet’s technology, stay tuned for our exclusive interview with Dr Erin Spiegel at the World Vaccine Congress in Barcelona. If you are coming to the World Vaccine Congress in Washington in 2023, you can hear more from PharmaJet in person!
