Vaxxas, a Queensland biotechnology business, has begun construction on a new facility in Northshore Hamilton, Brisbane to develop and manufacture its needle-free vaccination technology.
The project, which is backed by the Queensland Government, will see an existing warehouse at Northshore be refurbished and transformed into a state-of-the-art biomedical manufacturing facility, creating more than 80 jobs during construction.
Once constructed, the facility is expected to manufacture enough needle-free vaccine kits to deliver 300 million doses each year.
Visiting the site, Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development Steven Miles said the project was a key part of Queensland’s Economic Recovery Plan.
“Vaxxas will employ up to 110 high-skilled biomedical experts when operating in early 2023,” Mr Miles said.
“This could grow to more than 139 new jobs over five years, which will go a long way in securing Queensland as a globally competitive Asia-Pacific biomedical hub.”
Vaxxas Chief Operations and Development Officer Angus Forster said the company’s high-density micro-array patch (HD-MAP) technology “can deposit a vaccine through the surface of the skin in just a few seconds”.
“Our world-leading technology uses a small patch with a surface of thousands of micro-projections, just a quarter of a millimetre long, which are coated with a vaccine,” Mr Forster explained.
“Our clinical research shows that this elicits a more efficient and effective immune response than traditional syringes due to the abundance of immune cells immediately below the surface of the skin.”
“There’s also the opportunity to make the transportation of vaccines to rural and remote communities much easier as the vaccine patch can be stored at temperatures as high as 40ºC.”
According to Mr Forster, the first project for the patch will be on delivering an influenza vaccine, with Vaxxas to also investigate opportunities to improve the performance of other vaccines, including for COVID-19, to support future pandemic preparedness and response.
“We are pleased to be able to continue our work here in Brisbane and commend the Queensland Government for its investment in building Australia’s local manufacturing capacity and job prospects,” he concluded.
