In 1998, Dr. Gregory Glenn published a paper in the journal Nature, detailing how he and a team from Walter Reed Army Institute of Research were able to stimulate an impressive immune response in mice using transcutaneous immunization (TCI) technology.
TCI delivers vaccine or immune stimulating adjuvants to a group of cells in the skin called Langerhans cells that are a part of the immune system and have been shown to produce a robust immune response. In his conclusion, Dr. Glenn predicted that the work "may ultimately lead to the development of simple and safe needle-free vaccines." Today, we are focused on developing TCI technology with its attendant benefits including needle-free application, ability to deliver a broader range of vaccines than is possible via intramuscular (IM) injection and ease of storage, especially important for viability and utility of pandemic vaccines.
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