In preclinical trials in mice, the vaccine delivery system provided protection against malaria that was strong enough to stand up to the efficacy of traditional multi-dose regimens.
The University of Oxford | Image Credit: © kmiragaya - stock.adobe.com
Research scientists at the University of Oxford have developed a vaccine delivery mechanism, based on programmable microcapsules equipped with a chip-based microfluidics system, to address one of the biggest barriers to full immunization against disease: ensuring people return for a booster dose (1). In preclinical trials with mice models, just one injection of the vaccine technology provided strong protection against malaria, matching the efficacy of multi-dose regimens, the researchers said in a news release on June 26, 2025.
“Reducing the number of clinic visits needed for full vaccination could make a major difference in communities where healthcare access is limited,” Luca Bau, senior researcher from the Institute of Biomedical Engineering, said in the release (1). “Our goal is to help remove the barriers that stand in the way of people benefiting from life-saving medical innovations.”
The team has published its findings so far in Science Translational Medicine, which include an explanation of the technology: tiny, biodegradable capsules are injected along with the first vaccine dose, having been programmed to release the booster dose weeks or even months later (1). Oxford said the system is compatible with existing pharmaceutical production methods and, as such, has the potential to be rapidly scaled up for clinical use and eventual deployment.
“Our approach solves three of the biggest problems in delayed vaccine delivery: how to make it programmable, injectable, and scalable,” Romain Guyon, post-doctoral scientist, who invented the technology and was the lead author on the study, said in the release (1). “The microcapsules are precisely engineered to act as a tiny, timed-release vault, allowing us to dictate exactly when the booster dose is released. We believe this could be a game-changer not just for malaria but for many other vaccines requiring multiple doses or other complex therapeutic regimens.”
In the United States, in August 2024, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced that two NIH-supported trials found an experimental vaccine for malaria, PfSPZ, to be safe for use in adults in the African country of Mali (2). PfSPZ is a two-dose, radiation-attenuated vaccine, manufactured by Sanaria of Rockville, Md., but the regimen yielded promising results in terms of protection in cohorts of healthy adults and, separately, healthy women of childbearing potential.
At Oxford, the next step will be to adapt the manufacturing process to prepare for early-stage human trials, hoping to garner interest from partners in the pharmaceutical industry as well as global health organizations.
“This is the exciting first step in proving that it is possible to administer the full immunization complement through a single injection,” Anita Milicic, associate professor at the Jenner Institute, Nuffield Department of Medicine, said in the release (1). “We now turn to the next challenge: adapting and refining the approach for translation into the clinic, toward ultimately delivering a real-world impact.”
“This has been an extremely exciting project and a great example of how bringing together Engineering and Medical Science can create solutions to global problems,” Eleanor Stride, statutory professor of Biomaterials at the Department of Engineering Science and the Nuffield Department of Orthopedics, Rheumatology, and Musculoskeletal Sciences, said (1). “We’re hugely looking forward to taking this to the next stage.”
1. University of Oxford. ‘Single Shot’ Malaria Vaccine Delivery System Could Transform Global Immunization. Press Release. June 26, 2025.
2. National Institutes of Health. Candidate Malaria Vaccine Provides Lasting Protection in NIH-Sponsored Trials. Press Release. Aug. 14, 2024.
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