With research headed by University of Queensland bioscience experts and funding provided by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the efforts to rid the world of polio have indeed taken another major step.

A new study of the Nanopatch – a microscopic vaccine delivery platform initially developed by UQ Researchers – has demonstrated that the device more effectively combats the polio virus than syringes and needles.

Professor Paul Young, Head of UQ’s School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, stated that the innovation provided the next step in consigning polio to history.

Polio was one of the most dreaded childhood diseases of the 20th century, resulting in limb disfigurement and irreversible paralysis in tens of millions of cases.

This most recent study showed the Nanopatch enhanced responses to all three types of inactivated poliovirus vaccines (IPV) – a necessary advancement from using the current live oral vaccine. We are extremely grateful to the WHO for providing funding to Vaxxas Pty Ltd, the biotechnology company commercialising the Nanopatch. The support specifically assists pre-clinical studies and good manufacturing practices.  Professor Paul Young, Head of the School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland.

Image Credit:  The University of Queensland

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