, /PRNewswire/ -- -based biotech Orlance, Inc. has been awarded a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop and optimize RNA vaccine formulations using its needle-free MACH-1 platform. This technology aims to enhance the safety, stability, and efficacy of RNA vaccines for infectious diseases, including influenza and Covid-19, along with cancer immunotherapy applications.
The Orlance MACH-1 gene gun platform technology represents a potentially significant advancement in RNA vaccine delivery. Unlike traditional lipid nanoparticle (LNP) RNA vaccine formulations, which require ultra-cold storage and have been associated with rare adverse events like myocarditis, the MACH-1 platform utilizes dry, stable RNA-coated gold microparticles. This method enables direct delivery into the epidermis, the skin's highly immunocompetent layer, leading to robust immune responses at much lower doses.
Importantly, MACH-1 results in all vaccine staying within the target skin tissue and cells, eliminating the movement to non-target tissues that can result in adverse events potentially attributable to either a vaccine's active immunogens or the liquid LNP vehicle fluid carrying the vaccine. Orlance can deliver all subtypes of RNA vaccines currently in commercial use and under development such as mRNA and self-amplifying RNA technologies. The MACH-1 platform works by propelling RNA-coated gold microparticles directly into the epider.
