Harvard University bioengineers and public health researchers have been able to develop a novel spraying method in tuberculosis (TB) vaccine delivery.
This new needle-free process of TB vaccine delivery offers a better, cheaper approach in future TB vaccination that will prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. Besides, the spray TB vaccine is more stable at room temperature compared to existing methods.
According to David Edwards, the Gordon McKay Professor of the Practice of Biomedical Engineering in Harvard's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and lead study investigator:
"With the increasing incidence of tuberculosis and drug-resistant disease in developing countries due to HIV/AIDS, there is a need for vaccines that are more effective than the present Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine.
An optimal new vaccine would provide a safe and more consistent degree of protection by eliminating needle injection and refrigerated storage."
Through a partnership with the international not-for-profit Medicine in Need (MEND, based in Cambridge, Mass., Paris, and Cape Town) and with support from a Grand Challenge Grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Harvard team hopes to develop and distribute the vaccine in the next few years.
Read the full report.
[Photo Credit: NIAID]
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