Atlanta-based life science company Micron Biomedical has announced a $7.5 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to accelerate needle-free vaccine technology and increase access to measles-rubella (MR) vaccine.

The grant will support ongoing manufacturing efforts and activities to boost a phase 2 trial of Micron’s needle-free microarray technology in infants. The company is developing a needle-free version of the MR vaccine based on its microarray technology, which reduces the need for a cold chain and could enable a non-clinician to administer the vaccine.

With its latest grant, the foundation has awarded a total of $43 million to the company. Previous support helped fund the phase 1/2 trial and the development of commercial manufacturing equipment that will produce the MR vaccines at global scale.

“The continued funding support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to aid our work to increase access to the MR vaccine has been pivotal in Micron Biomedical’s progress toward making lifesaving and life-changing life science innovations more available and accessible,” said Micron Biomedical CEO Steven Damon. “This grant builds on previous funding that helped generate the positive phase 1/2 data that demonstrated our ability to overcome challenges getting preventive treatment to people who currently lack access, and will accelerate our efforts toward commercialization so that we can help to make critical pharmaceuticals more easily accessible and available.”

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