DNA-Based Vaccine Delivered Via Gold Particles Instead of Needle

Imagine getting a flu vaccine without being injected with a needle and without experiencing pain. PowderMed, a biotech firm in Oxford, England, is making this happen. The firm will soon begin Phase 2 clinical trials of a DNA-based vaccine that can be administered by DNA-coated gold particles propelled into the skin via high-pressure helium. The system is known as Particle Mediated Epidermal Delivery.

PowderMed is developing vaccines to protect against avian and annual flu, in addition to vaccines for herpes simplex, hepatitis, and other illnesses. The primary advantage of DNA vaccines is that they can be manufactured very rapidly (first doses within 10 weeks of strain …