Biotechnology company Vaxess Technologies Inc reported on Friday the receipt of a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF award number 2030305) and a subcontract from the US Department of Defense, Defense's Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to advance two separate projects aimed at developing mRNA-based vaccines and other medical countermeasures

Total funding awarded will be up to USD2m if all milestones are achieved, including a USD256,000 phase I SBIR grant from the NSF.

The features will include refrigeration-free, using the patented Silk Protein Matrix stabilization technology; Single dose administration, enabled by MIMIX sustained release formulation; and Painless application via MIMIX skin patch.

According to the company, it will use the funding to integrate mRNA-based vaccines and gene modulators provided through a collaboration with the Santangelo Lab at Georgia Tech into MIMIX patches to improve the efficacy and administration of novel mRNA-based vaccines as well as other medical countermeasures. The painless MIMIX patch is shelf-stable and can be self-applied.

In addition, the MIMIX patch is compatible with a wide range of COVID-19 vaccine candidates, as demonstrated by the company's work towards a combination seasonal protection patch that includes both a COVID-19 vaccine and a broadly protective seasonal flu vaccine.