The potential role of using vaccine patches to induce immunity: platform and pathways to innovation and commercialization

ABSTRACT

Introduction: In the last two decades, the evidence related to using vaccine patches with multiple short projections (≤1 mm) to deliver vaccines through the skin increased significantly and demonstrated their potential as an innovative delivery platform.

Areas covered: We review the vaccine patch literature published in English as of 1 March 2019, as well as available information from key stakeholders related to vaccine patches as a platform. We identify key research topics related to basic and translational science on skin physical properties and immunobiology, patch development, and vaccine manufacturing.

Expert opinion: Currently, vaccine patch developers continue to address some basic science and other platform issues in the context of developing a potential vaccine patch presentation for an existing or new vaccine. Additional clinical data and manufacturing experience could shift the balance toward incentivizing existing vaccine manufactures to further explore the use of vaccine patches to deliver their products. Incentives for innovation of vaccine patches differ for developed and developing countries, which will necessitate different strategies (e.g. public–private partnerships, push, or pull mechanisms) to support the basic and applied research needed to ensure a strong evidence base and to overcome translational barriers for vaccine patches as a delivery platform.

KEYWORDS:

• Vaccine
• human skin
• microneedle
• microarray patch

Article highlights

• Systematic review of the literature reveals substantial progress in the development of vaccine patches

• Efforts to translate research and development into commercial products will depend on successful convergence of multiple streams of work

• Different incentives exist for commercialization of vaccine patches in developed and developing countries

• Financial incentives for the platform will impact vaccine patch design

• Standardizing models and techniques would help to promote successful commercialization of vaccine patches in human skin

Acknowledgments

The initial draft of this article was prepared when Kamran Badizadegan was serving as the Chair of Pathology at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and professor of pathology at The Ohio State University Wexner College of Medicine. We thank Shanda Boyle, Gitte Giersing, David Hoey, Suresh Jadhav, Ravi Menon, Michael Royals, and multiple anonymous individuals for helpful comments and discussions.

Declaration of interest

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

Reviewer Disclosures

Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no relevant financial or other relationships to disclose

Additional information

Funding

This paper was supported by Cooperative Agreement Number 5NU2RGH001913-03-00 funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (first and last authors). The contents of this manuscript are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the Department of Health and Human Services.