For people who find an annual flu shot

inconvenient or scary - and there may be quite a few, given that nearly two-thirds of Americans missed their flu vaccine last year - help may be on the way.

NIAID-funded researcher Richard Gillespie, B.S., president and co-founder of Innoject, Inc. of Athens, TX, is developing a vaccine delivery system that would no longer require a trip to the doctor. That, and it looks about as menacing as a ballpoint pen.

A prototype of the auto-injector
Credit: Innoject, Inc.

Mr. Gillespie’s device, called the “auto-injector,” would enable a person to self-administer a flu vaccine in seconds. The auto-injector houses a hypodermic needle that remains safely hidden away in its holder until a button is pushed. Once that happens, the needle instantly extends into the injection site, injects the vaccine, and retracts back into its case, ready to be thrown away.

“It happens so fast, I didn’t feel a thing,” says Mr. Gillespie, about his experience with the current prototype.

Not only could the auto-injector be useful to seniors, people with disabilities, and people in rural areas who may have trouble getting to the doctor, but it could be broadly distributed in the event of a pandemic, thereby eliminating the need for large numbers of people to transport themselves to centralized immunization stations.

After the auto-injector passes company tests, Innoject will seek approval for the device from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Following FDA approval, a clinical trial will be conducted to determine if an injection into the fat layer just beneath the skin would immunize as well as an injection deeper into the muscle, which would require a longer needle and would carry more risk for injury. Researchers also are investigating if the self-administered vaccine produces the same results as the traditionally administered vaccine.

The clinical trial of the new delivery system, led by William Barr, Ph.D., of Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, will be conducted during the 2005-2006 flu season. For more information about the trial, contact Dr. Barr at (804) 828-8334.

For more information, visit the Innoject Web site.

Courtesy: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

This entry was posted on Friday, October 14th, 2005 at 8:46 pm and is filed under Home Remedies, Herbal Cures, and Alternative Medicine, Cold & Flu. Both comments and pings are currently closed.