Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation awarded a $761,000 grant for a polio vaccine research. A professor at the University of Central Florida is the recipient of the grant intended to develop a needle-free polio vaccine.
Grant recipient Henry Daniell will use the money to create a less expensive and more effective vaccine than those currently out in the market. According to him, the current vaccines created through expensive fermentation equipment have relatively short shelf life and require constant refrigeration. Further, the vaccine is commonly delivered through hypodermic injections, requiring tedious needle sterilization and availability of a medical professional to deliver them.
The proposed technique in creating the vaccine allows it to be delivered in capsule form. This will lessen both the production and storage costs and even extends its shelf life. According to Daniell, the vaccine will be formulated from genetically engineered plants such as lettuce and tobacco. This is different from the usual vaccines created containing inactive or avirulent form of the disease.
Daniell further said that “if this proceeds as we expect, it will revolutionize how vaccines are made. We’re currently using decades-old technology that is expensive and inefficient. Our new process is a game changer that could make a global difference.”
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has been actively promoting various fundraising research and schemes intended to improve and promote vaccination.
Source: TCE Today
http://www.tcetoday.com/latest%20news/2011/may/vaccine%20research%20given%20gates%20grant.aspx
