Pfizer agrees to buy vaccine company

PowderMed has developed technology to deliver DNA directly to the cells of the body’s immune system and is advancing a promising pipeline of proprietary vaccine candidates for influenza and chronic viral diseases.

“This acquisition is a strategic opportunity to enter the vaccine market and is part of our focus on broadening healthcare solutions for patients,” said Jeffrey Kindler, CEO of US-based Pfizer.

“There is a critical public health need for new, more effective vaccines to prevent and treat infectious diseases. As understanding of the human immune system continues to grow exponentially, PowderMed is on the leading edge of advances in vaccine technology that may lead to new vaccines for infectious diseases.”

PowderMed’s vaccine development program is based on its Particle Mediated Epidermal Delivery (PMED) technology, a needle-free delivery system that delivers DNA-coated microscopic gold particles into the skin using pressurized helium gas. The particles penetrate the epidermal layer of the skin activating cells that in turn trigger an immune response.

David Shedlarz, vice chairman of Pfizer, said: “With PowderMed’s novel DNA technology and its portfolio of early-stage vaccine candidates, we are adding high-potential, externally sourced product candidates and technologies to our research and development portfolio.”