Emergex Vaccines Holding Limited’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate has been successfully coated onto Zosano Pharma Corporation’s proprietary microneedle patch system, which consists of an array of approximately two thousand drug-coated titanium microneedles mounted on an adhesive patch that is administered to the skin using a reusable applicator.
 
Emergex and Zosano have demonstrated that Emergex’s COVID-19 vaccine is stable on the patches over a wide temperature range for up to six months at 40oC/75% relative humidity. Reducing cold chain logistics to a minimum may allow less costly and efficient vaccination programs around the world and increase global preparedness for future pandemics and disease outbreaks.
 
Emergex CD8+ T cell Adaptive Vaccine for COVID-19 offers the potential for long-term immune protection, thereby avoiding the need for seasonal boosting, and its broad protection is less likely to be impacted by changes (mutations) in the consensus sequence in RNA viruses leading to new variants of concern. Combining Emergex’s novel vaccine platform with Zosano’s innovative microneedle patch brings innovation in both immunological protection and delivery routes which may benefit global communities across many different infectious diseases.
 
Mahmoud Ameri, Ph.D., vice president of research and development at Zosano, commented: “We are pleased to have successfully reached this six-month milestone with a COVID-19 vaccine candidate onto our microneedle patch system and to collaborate with Emergex.”
 
Robin Cohen, chief commercial officer at Emergex, commented, “Vaccine delivery is a critical component in the global effort both to prepare for future pandemics and to prevent disease outbreaks in communities around the world. Our T cell Adaptive Vaccine technology has the potential to provide broad immune protection – covering viral strains and escape mutations as well as cellular immune memory that may last for decades. Combining this ground-breaking approach to vaccination with innovative, easy-to-use patch delivery could radically transform the vaccine landscape. We are delighted to have worked with Zosano on this exciting project.”