Merck & Co to study Iomai vacc booster patch

Iomai Corp has signed an agreement with fellow USA-based Merck & Co to conduct proof-of-principle preclinical studies evaluating the use of the former's needle-free immunostimulant patch. The drug major has first option to negotiate an exclusive license and the preclinical studies will be conducted using an undisclosed Merck vaccine.

Iomai recently announced results of a 500-person, Phase I/II trial in which a clinically-relevant adjuvant effect was observed when a version of the immunostimulant patch was administered in combination with an injected vaccine for pandemic influenza. It also revealed data from a prior European trial demonstrating the ability of the patch to boost the immune response of the elderly who receive an injected seasonal influenza vaccine.

The Iomai approach uses a potent adjuvant, applied to the skin through a patch that is affixed over the site of the injected vaccine. Once the patch is applied, the adjuvant passes into the skin, targeting the Langerhans cells, specialized skin cells that carry the adjuvant into the lymph nodes, where it works to boost an individual's immune response to the vaccine. This proprietary approach is known as transcutaneous immunization, Iomai said.