Biotechnology company Vaxxas has opened a new modern needle-free vaccine patch manufacturing facility in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

The 5,500m² facility will produce vaccine patches for late-stage clinical trials and first commercial products.

Employing 130 people, the facility also serves as the company’s new global headquarters. In the next three to five years, the company expects the number to grow to 200.

The Brisbane facility consists of two independent good manufacturing practice-qualified aseptic cleanrooms and manufacturing space for medical devices.

It also includes a device assembly cleanroom along with supporting infrastructure such as office space and laboratories.

The facility, which is funded by the Queensland government and Vaxxas, will enable the production of millions of the company's high-density microarray patches (HD-MAPs) per annum.

Vaxxas’ advanced HD-MAP technology platform uses an ultra-high-density array of projections applied to the skin as a patch through a small applicator device.

When placed on the skin, the patch delivers the vaccine to the immune cells located beneath the surface of the skin.

Vaxxas CEO David Hoey said: “With the support of the Queensland state and Australian federal governments, the Vaxxas biomedical facility will firmly position Australia at the forefront of vaccine technology innovation.

“The site will significantly increase our manufacturing capacity, creating new local, skilled jobs, while enabling Vaxxas to progress through late-stage clinical trials that will bring our first commercial vaccine products to the market.”