AIPS TV

Mark Kendall is Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology at The University of Queensland. He has been awarded the 2016 CSL Young Florey Medal.

Professor Mark Kendall is planning to dispatch the 160-year-old needle and syringe to history. This Queensland rocket scientist has invented a new vaccine technology that’s painless, uses a fraction of the dose, puts the vaccine just under the skin, and doesn’t require a fridge.

Human trials of Mark’s Nanopatch are underway in Australia, and the concept has broad patent coverage. It’s being supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Merck and the WHO. A polio vaccine trial is being planned for Cuba in 2017.

But it’s not been an easy path. Mark has had to push the science and business worlds to see the value of a new approach to vaccine delivery. It took 70 presentations before he secured funding for the UQ spin-out company Vaxxas.