Nanopatch Jet Coating drug delivery platform wins 2015 Good Design Award

Invetech, a leader in instrument development, custom automation, and contract manufacturing, and Vaxxas, a biotechnology start-up and developer of the Nanopatch™ needle-free drug delivery technology, have been named winners of the 2015 Good Design Award for development of the Nanopatch Jet Coating Instrument, an advanced technology platform to support needle-free dermal drug delivery research and product development. The award was announced last evening at the Good Design Awards Gala Night held in Sydney, Australia.

Nanopatch™ is a next-generation drug delivery platform that consists of an array of thousands of coated microprojections able to perforate the dermal layer to deliver vaccine into the outer layers of the skin. Vaccine delivery using Nanopatch has the potential to offer significant advantages over traditional injections, including needle-free drug delivery, reduced pain, no need for refrigerated supply chain, improved vaccine effectiveness and low cost of manufacture. A key consideration in product development is the ability to apply vaccine to the microprojections effectively. In this collaboration, design and engineering teams at Invetech and Vaxxas worked together to develop a unique drying protocol able to provide essential levels of precision and control in manufacturing and product replication. This, in turn, supports the potential use of Nanopatch in a range of vaccine clinical research programs.

"Our collaboration with Vaxxas is a great demonstration of how Invetech can complement the important work of emerging leaders in medical technology with additional insight and know-how to address very specific and complex challenges," said Richard Grant, global vice president at Invetech. "We are all very pleased that the Nanopatch Jet Coating Instrument, which represents an important milestone in drug delivery innovation, has been named the recipient of a 2015 Good Design Award."

The collaboration between Invetech and Vaxxas resulted in development of an instrument that enables controlled coating of the micro-projections with drug compounds followed by specific drying protocols based on use of a unique gas jet technology. Usability was a key consideration throughout the development process, targeting a platform that is easy to use, maintain and clean. With these advantages, manufacturers are better able to achieve target goals in terms of precision and product replication necessary to advance vaccines to clinical stage research.

"Our goal with the Nanopatch has been to develop a technology that enables safer and more efficient vaccination versus administration via needle and syringe. The Nanopatch has the potential to provide a better patient experience, with better overall economics because there is no need to maintain costly cold-chain. Of course, development of an advanced technology platform like this presented some challenges," said Dr. Angus Forster, Vaxxas' chief development and operations officer. "With our collaboration with Invetech, we brought together the range of expertise and insight to identify a new method to apply drug to microprojections that represents a major advance in our ability to deliver vaccines to patients."