Closely-held PharmaJet received a multi-year, $1.5-million grant from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to evaluate the impact of intradermal vaccine administration using the company’s Tropis needle-free injection system.
The project will measure vaccine coverage and cost using Tropis intradermal for fractional inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) delivery, compared with standard intramuscular delivery using needle and syringe.
Tropis is a WHO-prequalified, hand-held device that delivers a pressurized liquid stream without a needle and has been found to be immunologically as effective as needle and syringe methods while offering cost savings, ease and consistency of delivery and the ability to extend limited vaccine stocks.
PharmaJet and partners, – Jhpiego, PATH. Sydani Group -in collaboration with local governments in countries where the intervention is being piloted, will conduct a stratified-pair, cluster randomized study to assess the impact of needle-free delivery on vaccine coverage.
In addition, the mixed methods study will assess the programmatic feasibility, costs and sustainability, and develop a scaling plan for the introduction of Tropis IPV delivery.
