Vaxess and GC Pharma to Collaborate on Development of Highly Effective Influenza Vaccine Smart Release Patch

GC Pharma, a leading manufacturer of influenza vaccines with a global reach, and Vaxess, an innovative biotechnology company developing the MIMIX smart release patch, have partnered to commercialize a highly effective, painless, and refrigeration-free flu vaccine in a new, convenient patch format.

Influenza viruses infect nearly 20 percent of the global population each year, leading to severe illness and hospitalization for millions of individuals. Suboptimal efficacy and challenges with patient compliance limit the public health impact of influenza vaccines despite their availability.

The MIMIX smart release patch technology has demonstrated the capacity to enhance the efficacy of commercially available, FDA-approved influenza vaccines, as well as ease the distribution and administration to patients. The MIMIX smart release patch strengthens responses against both vaccine-included and drifted influenza strains through the use of sustained antigen presentation. This more accurately mimics a natural infection, thereby driving stronger, broader, and more durable HAI titers and influenza-specific T-cell responses. Moreover, immunization via the shelf-stable MIMIX patch simplifies delivery, patient administration, and compliance. Combining the GC Pharma influenza vaccine and Vaxess smart release patch technology creates a powerful partnership to commercialize a more effective vaccine that can be easily administered to everyone.

“GC Pharma is continually pushing the bounds of innovation in the influenza vaccine space,” said Michael Schrader, CEO of Vaxess. “We’re thrilled to work with them to improve upon the performance of existing vaccines while providing a novel product format that can dramatically increase global reach.”

This partnership announcement comes just a few months after Vaxess announced a financing round led by The Engine and receipt of federal grant support for the development of the MIMIX flu smart release patch. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

About MIMIX Smart Release Patch Platform

Medicine delivery, redefined. The MIMIX patch delivers medicines and vaccines through tiny silk microneedles that dissolve at a precisely engineered rate, releasing their treatment at its most effective dose for the most beneficial length of time.

More effective medications start with MIMIX. The MIMIX platform dramatically improves efficacy of products across a broad range of therapeutic areas by “mimicking” the prolonged exposure period that occurs during a natural infection. This prolonged exposure triggers a stronger and more enduring immune response.

Seamlessly painless. The MIMIX patch is virtually painless and applied like an adhesive bandage. After wearing it for few minutes, it’s removed from the skin while the medication continues to be delivered.

About Vaxess Technologies

Vaxess Technologies is a biotechnology company headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Formed by founders from Harvard University, the company is developing its proprietary sustained release smart delivery technologies originally developed at Tufts University and MIT. For more information please visit the company website at www.vaxess.com or send any additional inquiry to [email protected].

About GC Pharma

GC Pharma (formerly known as Green Cross Corporation) is a biopharmaceutical company that delivers life-saving and life-sustaining protein therapeutics and vaccines. Headquartered in South Korea, GC Pharma is the largest plasma protein product manufacturer in Asia and had been dedicated to quality healthcare solutions for more than half a century. Green Cross Corporation updated its corporate brand as GC Pharma in early 2018. Green Cross Corporation remains the company’s registered, legal name.

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