UK scientists have successfully trialled a fridge-free vaccine in humans for the first time. The study, involving 60 volunteers, used a tetanus-diphtheria vaccine that was dried into a powder and stored at room temperature for a year before being mixed with water and injected. The technology, inspired by resurrection plants, uses the sugar trehalose to stabilise the vaccine.
The trial, supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), showed the fridge-free vaccine produced an equivalent immune response to the conventional one and was safe. This innovation could eliminate the need for cold chains, reduce the 50% global vaccine wastage, and improve access in poor or remote regions. A larger trial with 160 people is planned, and the findings were published in eClinicalMedicine.