Life science company Micron Biomedical has announced a $23.6 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to fund mass production of needle-free vaccines.

The grant will fund the commercialization of the first microarray technology-based measles-rubella vaccine, indicated for children as young as nine months, once approved and following additional clinical study. In low- and middle-income countries, measles remains a leading cause of death, primarily due to limited access to vaccines that require refrigeration during transport and storage and clinicians to administer them. The needle-free technology reduces the need for a cold chain and allows a community health worker to vaccinate a child within minutes by applying the technology to the skin and pressing a button that confirms administration.

“Vaccines are among the most effective and cost-effective tools to prevent measles and rubella, diseases that account for an estimated 350 deaths per day with a disproportionate impact on people living in low- and middle-income countries,” said James Goodson, senior scientist and epidemiologist in the global immunization division at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Microarray-based measles-rubella vaccines could provide an alternative approach to delivering these life-saving vaccines to children in regions with some of the highest rates of unimmunized children in the world and could help overcome some of the most substantial barriers to eradicating measles and rubella globally.” 

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