Pfizer Inc. made a strategic advance into vaccines, acquiring DNA vaccines specialist PowderMed Ltd. The value of the deal, which includes a needle-free delivery system and a portfolio of products, was not disclosed.
PowderMed's lead product against seasonal flu has just entered a Phase I/IIa challenge trial in London and a U.S. Phase I trial, and is in line to become the first DNA vaccine to reach the market.
PowderMed's particle-mediated epidermal delivery technology uses pressurized helium to deliver microscopic gold particles coated in DNA directly to antigen-presenting cells in the epidermis. Once inside the APCs, the DNA become transcriptionally active, producing the encoded proteins, which then are presented by the APCs to lymphocytes, initiating a T-cell mediated immune response.
Apart from the immunological advantages of that route of delivery, the gold particle formulations are stable at room temperature, making them easy to store, and the needle-free device opens up the possibility of self-administration. The delivery device can be used to deliver conventional vaccines and other drugs in a powdered format, also.
PFE closed at 27.59 friday on NYSE.
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