Breath strips to replace COVID vaccine jabs? No more needles? McMaster researcher working to replace shots with oral option

Imagine: a Listerine breath strip, but make it a COVID vaccine.

That's what McMaster researchers are hoping to turn into a reality.

McMaster University and Rapid Dose Therapeutics (RDT) are working to create an oral vaccine" that could make needles a thing of the past - or at least, not necessary - when it comes to administering COVID vaccines. Those with a fear of needles, rejoice.

Alex Adronov, a McMaster chemistry professor and expert in synthetic polymer chemistry, said he first started exploring the concept of strips that release medicine as they dissolve in your mouth a few years back. But when COVID hit, a call from a McMaster colleague, James Mahony, an expert in virology and vaccine development, prompted him to change tack.

He had read about our project. And he said have you ever thought about delivering ... protein because it could be an interesting way to deliver a protein," Adronov told The Spectator.

The call crystallized" his decision to start focusing his research on oral COVID vaccines.

The project now involves a number of McMaster researchers, including Mahony and immunologist Mark Larche. The majority of the funding comes from a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) grant, Adronov said.

The research is still in the early stages, with some testing complete - the team created tiny dissolving strips that they tested on mice. The team is now moving into stage two" which involves infusing the RDT QuickStrip" with the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein - which will hopefully generate an immune response in animals.

Adronov estimates it will take months before clinical trials could take place and perhaps years before such a product is ready for public distribution.

Of course, by then, the hope is that most Canadians will have received their first and second doses of vaccine. But the thinking is booster shots" might be needed down the road - and perhaps the strips could come into play, Adronov said.

As for the potential perks of a dissolving strip versus needle: no potentially painful or scary needle, less volume means easier to transport, and easy use means no need for a physician or health professional to administer the dose.

Katrina Clarke is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach her via email: katrinaclarke@thespec.com