Research & Development World

  • R&D World Home
  • Topics
    • Aerospace
    • Automotive
    • Biotech
    • Careers
    • Chemistry
    • Environment
    • Energy
    • Life Science
    • Material Science
    • R&D Management
    • Physics
  • Technology
    • 3D Printing
    • A.I./Robotics
    • Software
    • Battery Technology
    • Controlled Environments
      • Cleanrooms
      • Graphene
      • Lasers
      • Regulations/Standards
      • Sensors
    • Imaging
    • Nanotechnology
    • Scientific Computing
      • Big Data
      • HPC/Supercomputing
      • Informatics
      • Security
    • Semiconductors
  • R&D Market Pulse
  • R&D 100
    • Call for Nominations: The 2025 R&D 100 Awards
    • R&D 100 Awards Event
    • R&D 100 Submissions
    • Winner Archive
    • Explore the 2024 R&D 100 award winners and finalists
  • Resources
    • Research Reports
    • Digital Issues
    • R&D Index
    • Subscribe
    • Video
    • Webinars
  • Global Funding Forecast
  • Top Labs
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE

FDA Approves First Microneedle Vaccine

By R&D Editors | May 11, 2011

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) – The FDA has approved the first flu shot injected with a tiny needle into skin cells rather than muscle.

Sanofi Pasteur said that the Food and Drug Administration approved the company’s Fluzone Intradermal vaccine for adults 18 through 64 years old. It will be available for the 2011-12 influenza season.

Flu shots generally are injected deep into muscle with a needle 1 inch to 1.5 inches long, a sight that distresses many patients.

Sanofi Pasteur’s new product has a needle less than a tenth of an inch long, attached to a pre-filled syringe that holds a smaller amount of influenza vaccine than the company’ standard flu shots. That’s because the dermis, the skin layer just under the surface, has a high concentration of the dendritic cells that are key to generating an immune response.

The company, based in Swiftwater, Pa., said patients have said they prefer the shorter, slimmer needles of the Fluzone Intradermal vaccine, but there’s no data yet on whether they are less painful than bigger needles. Reactions around the injection site, including redness, swelling and itching, were more common with the new vaccine than with an intramuscular vaccine, company research found.

The product is already marketed in Europe, Australia and Canada by Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccine division of French drug giant Sanofi, previously known as Sanofi-Aventis SA.

Olivier Charmeil, CEO of Sanofi Pasteur, said the product may help increase adult influenza immunization rates here.

Flu shots are now recommended for most Americans, but many adults don’t get them. Complications from the flu kill tens of thousands of Americans in a typical year.

Date: May 10, 2011
Source: Associated Press

 

 

Related Articles Read More >

2025 R&D layoffs tracker: 83,543 and counting
Health-related innovation in Morocco highlighted by resident inventor patenting activity
ARPA-H funds $29M Ginkgo-led project to reshore pharma supply chains using wheat germ tech
DNA microscope offers new 3D view of organisms from the inside out
rd newsletter
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND STAY CONNECTED
Get the latest info on technologies, trends, and strategies in Research & Development.
RD 25 Power Index

R&D World Digital Issues

Fall 2024 issue

Browse the most current issue of R&D World and back issues in an easy to use high quality format. Clip, share and download with the leading R&D magazine today.

Research & Development World
  • Subscribe to R&D World Magazine
  • Enews Sign Up
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Drug Discovery & Development
  • Pharmaceutical Processing
  • Global Funding Forecast

Copyright © 2025 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy | Advertising | About Us

Search R&D World

  • R&D World Home
  • Topics
    • Aerospace
    • Automotive
    • Biotech
    • Careers
    • Chemistry
    • Environment
    • Energy
    • Life Science
    • Material Science
    • R&D Management
    • Physics
  • Technology
    • 3D Printing
    • A.I./Robotics
    • Software
    • Battery Technology
    • Controlled Environments
      • Cleanrooms
      • Graphene
      • Lasers
      • Regulations/Standards
      • Sensors
    • Imaging
    • Nanotechnology
    • Scientific Computing
      • Big Data
      • HPC/Supercomputing
      • Informatics
      • Security
    • Semiconductors
  • R&D Market Pulse
  • R&D 100
    • Call for Nominations: The 2025 R&D 100 Awards
    • R&D 100 Awards Event
    • R&D 100 Submissions
    • Winner Archive
    • Explore the 2024 R&D 100 award winners and finalists
  • Resources
    • Research Reports
    • Digital Issues
    • R&D Index
    • Subscribe
    • Video
    • Webinars
  • Global Funding Forecast
  • Top Labs
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE