Needle-Free Skin Patch Delivery of a Vaccine for a Potentially Pandemic Influenza Virus Provides Protection against Lethal Challenge in Mice

Abstract

In the event of another influenza virus pandemic, strategies for effective mass vaccination will urgently be needed. We used a novel transdermal patch delivery technology, known as the PassPort system, to vaccinate mice with recombinant H5 hemagglutinin with or without immunomodulators. This needle-free form of vaccine delivery induced robust serum antibody responses that were augmented by different immunomodulators that stimulated the innate immune system and protected mice against lethal challenge with a highly pathogenic avian H5N1 influenza virus.