Vaccines

Benefits

Targeted Delivery to Immune Tissue:

ID delivery targets skin-resident antigen-presenting cells (APCs), which are required to initiate an immune response.

Dose Sparing / Fractional Dosing:

Efficient targeting to immune cells in the skin allows for lower doses, while maintaining therapeutic efficacy.

Reduced Side Effects:

The localized nature of intradermal delivery minimizes systemic exposure, potentially reducing the risk of adverse reactions and improving tolerability.

Stronger Immune Response:

By targeting APCs, stronger, immune responses may be generated, potentially leading to greater vaccine efficacy and longer-lasting immunity.

Improved Patient Experience:

Microneedles can reduce injection intimidation potentially improving the uptake of vaccines.

Why Intradermal Vaccine Delivery Makes Sense

The skin is not just a protective barrier—it’s a powerful immune organ. Vaccines are typically delivered into the muscle for convenience. However, unlike muscle tissue, the skin is rich in lymphatic vessels, as well as antigen-presenting cells (APCs) such as dendritic cells, Langerhans cells, and macrophages, which are critical for initiating an immune response (Lambert, 2008).

When a vaccine is delivered intradermally, it is predominantly taken up by APCs, which captures/processes the antigen (the substance that triggers an immune response) and then traffic to the lymph nodes where they prime and activate immune effector cells (B and T-cells) initiating both the cellular and humoral immune responses (Levin, 2014).

With traditional routes of administration (intramuscular, intravenous, subcutaneous), the antigen or vaccine is often lost or degraded before reaching systemic circulation, or it is taken up by non-professional antigen-presenting cells (APCs). This can reduce the potency and effectiveness of the immune response.

As a result, the intradermal route emerges as the logical choice for vaccine administration (Levin, 2014). However, technical challenges have limited its widespread adoption, preventing it from being more broadly utilized despite its potential advantages. Pharma Latch technology effectively addresses all of the previous challenges, enabling vaccines to reach their full potential.

Applications

A Versatile Platform

Peptides & Proteins

Live Viruses

mRNA

Inactivated Viruses

Adjuvanted Vaccines

Virus-like Particles

Key Areas/ Applications

mRNA

The Promise of mRNA Technology

Following its remarkable success during the COVID-19 pandemic, mRNA technology has attracted significant attention and is now being explored across a broad range of therapeutic areas. As we look to the future, the development of mRNA vaccines will focus on eliciting stronger immune responses, while ensuring safety remains a top priority.

Intradermal Delivery of mRNA: A Game-Changer for Vaccination

One promising approach for improving mRNA vaccine delivery is intradermal administration. This method has the potential to:

  • Allow for fractional dosing: Fractional dosing refers to using smaller doses of the vaccine to achieve the same, or even improved, efficacy. This could help make mRNA vaccines more accessible by reducing the amount of the active ingredient needed. (Niyomnaitham et al., 2023) (Schnyder, 2022) (Roozen 2022)
  • Reduce safety concerns: By reducing the dose and targeting the immune system more effectively, intradermal delivery may reduce the risk of adverse reactions.
  • Improved Immune Response: Targeting of immune cells may lead to stronger and more durable immune responses
Expanding Dose Range for Enhanced Immune Responses

A broader dose range is particularly critical when stronger immune responses are needed across various therapeutic areas.

Cancer Vaccines

Targeting Self-Antigens: Intradermal delivery offers an effective platform for cancer vaccines targeting self-antigens, enabling precise immune activation against tumor cells.

Chronic Infectious Diseases

Eradicating Latent Infections: For established infections, including those with latent cells, intradermal delivery may provide a more robust immune response, making it easier to target and eliminate difficult-to-eradicate pathogens.

Multivalent Vaccines

Increasing mRNA Quantity: As the number of targets in multivalent vaccines (e.g., 5, 10, 20-valent) increases, so does the amount of mRNA required. Intradermal delivery may reduce the amount of mRNA required, potentially reducing costs.

Elderly Populations

Combating Immune Senescence: As immune function declines with age, intradermal delivery can improve the potency of vaccines in elderly populations, overcoming challenges related to immune senescence.

Dose-Sparing and Tolerability Considerations

Dose-sparing strategies are critical in several key areas:

  • High-Risk Patients: By reducing the required vaccine dose, intradermal delivery may help lower the risk of serious adverse events in high-risk patients.
  • General Tolerability in Healthy Populations: Dose-sparing enhances vaccine safety and improves the general tolerability of prophylactic vaccines for healthy individuals.
  • Cost Reduction: Reducing the required vaccine dose offers a cost-effective solution, making vaccines more accessible and affordable.

Intradermal Delivery and Pandemic Response

Intradermal (ID) vaccine delivery offers a powerful tool for enhancing pandemic response efforts. Many current vaccines, including those for infectious diseases, can benefit from the dose-sparing potential of ID administration. By delivering vaccines into the skin, which is rich in immune cells and directly connected to the lymphatic system, ID delivery improves immune activation while requiring a smaller dose. This can increase vaccine supply by 5-10 times, enabling faster and broader distribution, especially in times of global health crises.

By improving both the speed and access to vaccines, intradermal delivery not only enhances vaccine availability but also strengthens the overall effectiveness of pandemic response strategies.

Pharma Latch technology is uniquely positioned as the optimal solution for leveraging intradermal administration in pandemic responses:

  • Vaccine agnostic & versatile: No need for reformulation or volume limits, and no complex fill/finish processes required, making it adaptable to a wide range of vaccines.
  • Highly scalable: Pharma Latch technology can be rapidly produced in large quantities to meet global demand.
  • Utilizes standard materials
  • Easy to use: Designed for simplicity, Pharma Latch is user-friendly and can be effectively administered by a range of professionals, including pharmacists, healthcare workers, and military personnel.
  • Reliable/Precise technology
References
  1. Niyomnaitham, S. et al. Immunogenicity and reactogenicity of accelerated regimens of fractional intradermal COVID-19 vaccinations. Front. Immunol. 13, 1080791 (2023).
  2. Schnyder, J. L., De Jong, H. K. & Grobusch, M. P. Intradermal immunization—a dose-sparing strategy to combat global shortages of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 vaccines? Clinical Microbiology and Infection 28, 6–8 (2022).
  3. Roozen, G. V. T. et al. Safety and Immunogenicity of Intradermal Fractional Dose Administration of the mRNA-1273 Vaccine: A Proof-of-Concept Study. Ann Intern Med 175, 1771–1774 (2022).
  4. Lambert PH, Laurent PE. Intradermal vaccine delivery: will new delivery systems transform vaccine administration? Vaccine. 2008 Jun 19;26(26):3197-208. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2008.03.095. Epub 2008 Apr 22. PMID: 18486285. 
  5. Levin, C., Perrin, H., & Combadiere, B. (2014). Tailored immunity by skin antigen-presenting cells. Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics, 11(1), 27–36. https://doi.org/10.4161/hv.34299 
Talk to us
Email us
Request technical pack

Latch Medical Limited

Nova UCD, Belfield Innovation Park University College Dublin, Dublin 4, D04 V2P1

Contact

E: info@pharmalatch.com
T: +353 1 7163770

Connect

Links

Privacy Policy »
Cookie Policy »

Site by OGX

Product is in development and pre-approval, not for sale within the US, EU or any other jurisdiction