BRISBANE, Australia & CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Vaxxas, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, today announced the appointments of three globally respected vaccine experts as advisors to its product development and strategy team as the company advances its novel high-density microarray patch (HD-MAP) vaccine technology towards later stage clinical trials and commercialization. 
Dr. Emilio Emini, Dr. Nathalie Garcon, and Prof. Paul Young will join Vaxxas as consultants, providing clinical, regulatory and manufacturing advice to the company’s Chief Medical Officer Dr Rochelle Chaiken and Chief Technology Officer Dr Angus Forster.
Located in the United States, Europe and Australia, the advisors extend Vaxxas’ global expertise as it expands and progresses its product pipeline, including advancing the company’s COVID-19, influenza and RSV HD-MAP delivered vaccine candidates into later-stage clinical trials.
“Expanding our international product development expertise is a strategic priority for Vaxxas as we advance our technology towards later-stage clinical trials, large-scale manufacturing, and eventual commercialization,” David L. Hoey, President and CEO of Vaxxas said. “Our needle-free technology has the potential to transform the way life-saving vaccines are delivered globally, so it is critical to have this international representation and input.”
The United States and Europe are both critical markets for developing Vaxxas’ products and potentially expanding its manufacturing footprint.
"There is a growing unmet need to vaccinate more people across the globe,” Dr. Chaiken, Chief Medical Officer of Vaxxas, said. “Alternative vaccination platforms like Vaxxas’ patch technology can complement traditional needle and syringe delivery, helping us get more vaccines into arms to address emerging health problems. I’m excited to be working with this esteemed group of internationally respected vaccine experts, to inform our development programs and contribute to these global needs."
The recent appointments join Dr. Charles Knirsch, an infectious disease physician, who came to Vaxxas in July 2024 as a clinical and medical advisor following a 20-year career at Pfizer where he was Chief Development Officer of Infectious Diseases. Dr. Knirsch also co-founded Parasites without Borders and is a member and rotating Chair of the Special Emphasis Panel study review section of the US National Institutes of Health.
Vaxxas’ HD-MAP technology has completed five successful Phase I clinical trials involving over 500 participants. The company is also conducting its first US IND-enabled Phase I clinical study for a pre-pandemic influenza vaccine involving 258 participants, with funding from the United States Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).
Bios and quotes attributable to new Vaxxas Advisors
Dr Emilio Emini, recently retired from the role of Chief Executive Officer of the Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute. Prior to joining the Institute, Dr. Emini served as Director of the Bill & Melinda Gates global TB and HIV Programs. This was preceded by a 30-year career in the biopharmaceutical industry. His roles included serving as Senior Vice President, Vaccine Research and Development, for Pfizer Inc., where he led the development of the Prevenar 13 vaccine for prevention of pneumococcal disease, Senior Vice President of Vaccines and Biologics Research for the Merck Research Laboratories, and Executive Director of Antiviral Research for Merck. Dr Emini has also served as an advisor to the COVID vaccine programs of the US Department of Health and Human Services.
Dr Emini quote:
“The global public health impact of vaccines is unquestioned. Nonetheless, the delivery of many vaccines, particularly to disadvantaged populations, remains challenging. The development of technologies like Vaxxas’ HD-MAP can substantially enhance the global use of essential vaccines.”
Dr. Nathalie Garcon, is the former Vice President and Head of Global Adjuvant Centre for Vaccine Development at GSK Biologicals. She is internationally recognized for her leadership in the field of vaccine technology, manufacturing, development and registration, with a particular focus on adjuvants having designed, developed and implemented GSK’s adjuvants strategy leading to the licensure of several adjuvanted vaccines worldwide including (Cervarix), pandemic influenza (Pandemrix), zoster vaccine (Shingrix).
Dr Garcon quote:
“To fight, contain and treat epidemics requires proactive technology solutions adapted to meet the public health need and to allow for rapid deployment and care to a global world. Vaxxas’ HD-MAP technology has the potential to play a significant role in this equation. Easy to use, it offers a faster, broader and more efficient vaccine delivery method.”
Professor Paul Young, is a Professor of Virology at The University of Queensland, Brisbane. His more than 40-year career has involved research on understanding the basis of virus-induced disease and he is internationally recognised for the development of new and improved diagnostics as well as vaccine and therapeutic control strategies for a range of viral pathogens. With colleagues at UQ, Prof. Young led an Australian consortium that developed a COVID-19 vaccine in early 2020, based on an innovative platform technology he co-created at UQ.
Prof Young quote:
“Vaxxas has made extraordinary progress in bringing the high-density microarray patch from concept through pre-clinical and extensive engineering development and now to clinical trials. The findings from these clinical trials are extremely encouraging and the company is poised to revolutionize the field of vaccine delivery in the years ahead. I am excited to become part of the advisory team providing support in helping shape these critical next steps.”
About Vaxxas HD-MAP Platform
Vaxxas’ HD-MAP vaccine technology platform has the potential to improve vaccination by creating vaccine patches that are easy to use, potentially enabling self-administration, and can be stable at room temperature, reducing the complexities and costs associated with refrigerated storage and distribution.
Vaxxas’ HD-MAP technology has completed five successful Phase I clinical trials involving over 500 participants with vaccines that address some of the world’s biggest health challenges including COVID-19, flu, and measles and rubella. Vaxxas is currently conducting its first US IND-enabled Phase I clinical study for a pre-pandemic influenza vaccine involving 258 participants, with funding from the United States Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).
Vaxxas aims to distribute the world’s first commercially available vaccine patches from its global headquarters and state of the art biomedical facility in Brisbane in the next three to five years.
About Vaxxas
Vaxxas is a privately held biotechnology company focused on enhancing the performance of existing and next-generation vaccines with its proprietary HD-MAP. Vaxxas is targeting initial applications in infectious diseases and oncology.
Vaxxas’ core technology was initially developed at The University of Queensland (UQ), and the company was established as a start-up in 2011 by UQ’s commercialisation group UniQuest. The company was founded with the completion of an initial equity financing led by OneVentures Innovation Fund I with co-investors Brandon Capital Partners and US-based HealthCare Ventures, followed by further financing led by OneVentures, joined by UQ.
OneVentures Innovation Fund I and Brandon BioCatalyst are supported by the Australian Government’s Innovation Investment Fund (IIF) program. The IIF is an Australian Government venture capital initiative that provides investment capital and managerial expertise through licensed venture capital fund managers to investee companies. Learn more at One-Ventures and Brandon Capital.
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