Sanofi pasteur, the vaccine business of the sanofi-aventis Group has entered into an agreement with Becton, Dickinson Company (BD) to license the micro-delivery technology of BD Medical Pharmaceutical Systems for use in the administration of sanofi pasteur’s human vaccine products.

Sanofi pasteur’s vaccine are traditionally administered via intramuscular injection. This BD technology provides a new method of delivering vaccines into the skin. The results of early-phase clinical research have shown that utilisation of this new technology has the potential to improve the immunogenicity and efficacy of the delivered vaccine, informs a company release.

The BD micro-delivery system is designed to be pre-filled with vaccine and to easily and reliably deliver the vaccine to the target area. The tiny micro-needle used in the micro-delivery system is as thin as a human hair.

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 further demonstrate the micro- delivery system’s applicability to delivering a wide variety of vaccines, including the influenza vaccine that is being evaluated in human clinical trials conducted in conjunction with the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NAID).

BD is a medical technology company that manufactures and sells a broad range of medical supplies, devices, laboratory equipment and diagnostic products.