MIT research team develops microneedle patch “printer” for vaccine delivery

In a research article published in Nature Biotechnology, a team from the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT details their journey in devising an exciting new methodology for delivering vaccines such as the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine. They have developed a “printer” for microneedle patches smaller than the average postage stamp that penetrate the skin to perform their vaccine delivery. The project predates the COVID-19 pandemic, as the research team was originally tapped by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to come up with technologies that enable on-demand access to vaccines—in lieu of stockpiling vaccines, all in preparation for proper care at scale in a pandemic-type setting. “We hope the systems and principles developed in our Nature Biotechnology paper to create a mobile vaccine printer will someday enable people in remote areas to receive vaccines on demand,” Dr. Robert Langer, whose lab at MIT served as the home base...