Global health R&D at work in Hawaii
Researchers at the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine have partnered with Hawaii Biotech and another US-based biotech company to advance research on a thermal stabilization technology to make vaccines heat stable. Most vaccines available today must be continuously refrigerated to remain effective. This can make them challenging to deliver in last-mile settings worldwide that lack reliable electricity and cold chain infrastructure. Using this technology, collaborators have already advanced candidate vaccines for Ebola and COVID-19 that have shown promise in early-stage research. If successful, this thermal stabilization technology holds the potential to improve immunization efforts globally by simplifying the logistics of vaccine storage and administration.