BD Micro-Delivery System Licensed by Sanofi Pasteur; Technology has Potential to Improve Efficiency of Influenza Vaccine

FRANKLIN LAKES, N.J. -- BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) has entered into an agreement with sanofi pasteur, the vaccines business of the sanofi-aventis Group, to license the BD Micro-Delivery System for use in the administration of sanofi pasteur's human vaccine products.

Most vaccines are delivered via intramuscular injection. This BD patented technology provides a new method of delivering vaccine into the upper layer of the skin. The results of early-phase clinical research have shown that this method of delivery has the potential to improve the immunogenicity and efficiency of the delivered vaccine.

"We are very pleased to enter into this collaboration with sanofi pasteur," said Gary Cohen, president of BD Medical.  "We believe that our BD Micro-Delivery System has the potential to help address some of the important health challenges facing the world today, and embodies BD's company purpose of helping all people live healthy lives."

The BD Micro-Delivery System is designed to be pre-filled with vaccine and to easily and reliably deliver the vaccine to the skin.  The system features a tiny "microneedle." Clinical testing indicates that the "microneedle" is barely perceptible when it enters the skin.

"In practical terms, the BD Micro-Delivery System has the potential to increase a patient's acceptance of vaccine as well and enable vaccination of more people with less vaccine," said Alexandre Conroy, president of BD Medical Pharmaceutical Systems.

Under the terms of the agreement, BD will provide sanofi pasteur with a license to the BD Micro-Delivery System in the field of human vaccines. The parties will continue to work together to demonstrate its applicability to delivering a wide variety of vaccines, including the influenza vaccine that is now being tested in human clinical trials conducted in conjunction with the U.S. National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

Per the agreement, BD will be compensated for use of the BD Micro-Delivery System provided to sanofi pasteur, which will develop, manufacture and commercialize the vaccine-filled BD Micro-Delivery Systems.

Source: sanofi pasteur, BD