New technique could facilitate multiple vaccine doses in one injection

Multiple doses of a drug or vaccine could be delivered over an extended time period with a single injection, thanks to the creation of a new 3D fabrication method.

A team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a novel type of drug-carrying particle made of a biocompatible polymer that can be designed to degrade at a specific time, releasing the particle's contents according to a predetermined timescale.

Potentially, this could make it possible to release drug doses hundreds of days after injection, meaning people could potentially receive a single injection that would have multiple boosters already built into it.

Although challenges remain in making sure the encapsulated drug or vaccine remains stable at body temperature for an extended period, the principle behind this research hints at a promising new approach to make the treatment and prevention of disease considerably easier.

Robert Langer, the David H Koch Institute Professor at MIT, said this new technology "could have a significant impact on patients everywhere, especially in the developing world where patient compliance is particularly poor".

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