Why Delivery Matters for Pandemic Readiness

Why Delivery Matters for Pandemic Readiness

Rethinking Preparedness Starts with Rethinking How We Deliver

Recent crises have shown that pandemics don’t simply strain health systems—they disrupt entire societies. Supply chains falter under global demand. Regulatory processes slow when speed is most vital. Health systems run short on qualified vaccinators. And affordability barriers delay access in the communities that need protection first.

For decades, the world has assumed that needle-based delivery is the default. But CEPI’s 100 Days Mission is clear: every component of pandemic response must be optimized for speed, scale, and equity. Delivery method is not a technical afterthought—it is a strategic choice that determines how quickly and effectively populations can be protected.

Innovative and adaptable delivery technologies can diversify supply chains, reduce regulatory uncertainty, and accelerate access.

What It Takes to Be Ready for the Next Pandemic

  • Regulatory Acceleration
    Regulators favor platforms with a proven safety record and a clear precedent. Delivery systems with established regulatory pathways reduce risk, shorten review timelines, and increase confidence for rapid approval and rollout.
  • Supply Chain Resilience
    Pandemic response requires both stable supply and the ability to scale fast. Dose-sparing strategies—central to CEPI’s 2.0 roadmap and BARDA’s pandemic influenza strategy—extend vaccine supply when demand surges. Diversifying delivery options can reduce dependence on needle-based systems and other vulnerable components of the global supply chain.
  • Affordability and Access
    Using less vaccine per dose directly reduces cost per person vaccinated. For funders such as the Gates Foundation, affordability and equitable deployment are not aspirational—they are core criteria for supporting platforms that can reach the communities most at risk.i
  • Deployment Efficiency
    In a surge, every second counts. Delivery methods that simplify administration, reduce training requirements, and eliminate sharps waste enable more rapid, safe, and scalable field operations.

PharmaJet Tropis: A Delivery Platform Built for Speed, Scale, and Equity

PharmaJet’s Tropis® Needle-free Injection System is engineered to deliver measurable advantages where they matter most:

  • Dose-sparing intradermal delivery that extends vaccine supply and extends budgets.ii
  • Faster and safer administration with a time-saving workflow and no sharps waste or needle-related injuries.
  • High acceptability among health workers and recipients, especially in low-resource settings.ii
  • Scalable manufacturing capacity to meet surge demand: PharmaJet has already supplied 15M needle-free syringes supporting polio vaccination campaigns.
  • A proven regulatory pathway, reducing uncertainty and accelerating adoption: Tropis is WHO-prequalified and registered in many countries.
  • Easy and intuitive training and use to expand the pool of qualified vaccinators during emergencies.iii
  • Extensive real-world use in Global Polio Eradication Initiative campaigns, including support for house-to-house strategies.iv
  • A legacy of advancing novel vaccine platforms:
    • The world’s first plasmid DNA Covid-19 vaccine for administration in humans from Zydus Lifesciences (ZyCoV-D), is exclusively delivered with Tropis based on pre-clinical and clinical study results that showed increased immune response of the vaccine translating into clinical effectiveness of ZyCoV-D.v
    • The world’s first self-amplifying mRNA-based Omicron-specific Covid-19 booster vaccine from Gennova Biopharmaceuticals (GEMCOVAC®-OM) is also exclusively delivered with Tropis. This product achieved emergency use authorization and allows low-dose, intradermal administration of the first room temperature stable mRNA vaccine.

A Delivery System for the First—and Most Critical—100 Days

Funders and policymakers are aligned: pandemic preparedness depends on reducing risk, accelerating delivery, and ensuring equity. CEPI’s 100 Days Mission, BARDA’s end-to-end strategy, and the Gates Foundation’s emphasis on measurable impact all point to the same conclusion:

The world cannot afford delivery bottlenecks when Disease X emerges.

Diversifying delivery beyond needles is one of the simplest, most overlooked ways to strengthen readiness. PharmaJet Tropis offers a practical, proven path to faster approvals, resilient supply chains, and equitable access—exactly the outcomes the global community demands as we prepare for the next pandemic threat.

It is time to prioritize delivery as a design variable in pandemic vaccine research!

i Gates, B. (2022). How to Prevent the Next Pandemic. Alfred A. Knopf.
ii Mohan et al., 2025
iii Nouh et al., 2024
iv Biya et al., 2023
v PharmaJet Tropis Intradermal Delivery System is Now Authorized for Two Nucleic Acid Vaccines. | PharmaJet