What Vaxxas does

Vaxxas Pty Ltd is an Australian clinical-stage biotechnology company founded in 2011 as a spin-out from the University of Queensland, headquartered in Brisbane with US operations in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The company develops and is commercializing the High-Density Microarray Patch (HD-MAP), a needle-free vaccine delivery platform consisting of a patch with thousands of vaccine-coated microprojections (~0.25mm) integrated into a single-use applicator that delivers vaccine directly to immune cells below the skin surface. The platform has been validated in 5+ Phase I clinical trials covering COVID-19 (HexaPro), seasonal influenza (IIV4), pre-pandemic H7N9 influenza, measles and rubella, and typhoid, with over 750 participants dosed, and is being extended to RSV, mRNA and DNA-based vaccines. Key technical differentiators include dry-coating technology enabling thermostability at 40°C for up to 12 months (eliminating cold-chain logistics), dose-sparing potential, and a path to self-administration.

Vaxxas pursues a hybrid business model spanning four commercial segments: (1) licensing the HD-MAP platform to global pharmaceutical companies — Merck/MSD holds exclusive rights to one undisclosed vaccine candidate plus options for two additional candidates under a collaboration originating in 2012; (2) government and global health agency contracting for pandemic preparedness and low-and-middle-income country vaccine access, with awards from BARDA (US$22M in 2020 plus US$2M BARDA Prize in 2025), CEPI (US$4.8M mRNA program), Wellcome (US$3.67M typhoid) and Gates Foundation (measles/rubella Phase I); (3) in-licensing and self-commercializing proprietary vaccine candidates including RSV from NIH and HexaPro from University of Texas; and (4) a new European market entry via consortium with SK bioscience and IDT Biologika, awarded a Phase 1 EU HaDEA tender in February 2026 with up to A$250M available across three phases. All HD-MAP products remain under clinical investigation and none are approved for sale.

The company is preparing for commercial scale, having opened a 5,500 sqm purpose-built Brisbane biomedical facility in June 2023, secured a TGA manufacturing licence in December 2025 enabling up to 300 million patches per year, raised approximately A$90M in equity and debt in August 2025, and appointed former Merck Global Vaccines President David Peacock as CEO in January 2026 to lead commercialization. Backers include OneVentures (lead investor since founding), UniQuest, Brandon Capital, HealthCare Ventures, and non-dilutive funders including BARDA, the EU, CEPI, Gates and Wellcome; total disclosed funding identified in the data exceeds A$250M.

Name

Vaxxas

Legal name

Vaxxas Pty Ltd

Website

https://vaxxas.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Vaxxas is a clinical-stage Australian biotechnology company developing the HD-MAP, a needle-free microarray patch platform for delivering vaccines to immune cells beneath the skin. It serves global pharmaceutical partners, government pandemic-preparedness agencies, and global-health organizations across programs in COVID-19, influenza, RSV, measles/rubella and typhoid.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Hamilton

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Platform Licensing: Licensing the proprietary HD-MAP platform technology to global pharmaceutical companies for use with their vaccine candidates. Merck/MSD has exclusive rights for one vaccine candidate and options for two additional vaccines.
2. Grant Funding and Government Contracts: Funding from government agencies (BARDA, EU HaDEA) and global charitable foundations (Gates Foundation, Wellcome, CEPI) to advance clinical programs and manufacturing capabilities.
3. Direct Vaccine Product Commercialization: Commercializing proprietary and in-licensed vaccine candidates (COVID-19 HexaPro, RSV, pandemic influenza, typhoid, measles/rubella) through late-stage clinical trials to market entry.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Vaxxas develops and commercializes the proprietary HD-MAP (High-Density Microarray Patch) platform, a needle-free vaccine delivery technology consisting of a patch with thousands of vaccine-coated microprojections (~0.25mm) integrated with a single-use applicator that delivers vaccine to immune cells beneath the skin. The company applies this platform across multiple investigational vaccine programs including COVID-19, seasonal and pre-pandemic influenza, measles and rubella, RSV, and typhoid, while licensing the technology to global pharmaceutical partners such as Merck/MSD for use with their vaccine candidates.

Product overview

Vaxxas is commercializing the HD-MAP (High-Density Microarray Patch) as a universal needle-free vaccine delivery platform. The core HD-MAP technology consists of a small patch with thousands of microscopic vaccine-coated projections integrated into a single-use applicator device that delivers vaccine to immune cells just below the skin surface. Vaxxas applies this platform across multiple vaccine programs including COVID-19 (HexaPro), seasonal influenza (IIV4), pre-pandemic influenza (H7N9), measles and rubella, RSV, and typhoid, all delivered as investigational patches. The platform is designed to enable dose-sparing, thermostability (stable at up to 40°C), potential self-administration, and enhanced immunogenicity compared to needle-and-syringe delivery. The company is also advancing mRNA and DNA-based vaccine delivery via HD-MAP. Vaxxas operates under four commercial segments: pandemic response, HD-MAP licensing to pharmaceutical companies (including Merck/MSD), global health vaccine extension, and in-licensing vaccines for its own commercialization.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• HD-MAP (High-Density Microarray Patch) Platform
• COVID-19 Vaccine Patch (HexaPro)
• Seasonal Influenza Vaccine Patch (IIV4)
• Pre-Pandemic Influenza Vaccine Patch (H7N9)
• Measles and Rubella Vaccine Patch
• RSV Vaccine Patch
• Typhoid Vaccine Patch
• mRNA Vaccine Delivery via HD-MAP
• EU Next-Generation Influenza Vaccine Program

Quantifiable outcome

• COVID-19 pandemic could have been reduced by 150 days with MAP technology deployment, potentially preventing 16.3 million cases and 200,000 deaths in US alone
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core, supporting and major.

• SK biosciencecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 February 2026Part of global consortium awarded €12.9M Phase 1 tender by EU HaDEA for next-generation influenza vaccines. SK bioscience supplies vaccine antigens (SKYCellflu) and leads European collaboration. Consortium can access up to A$250M across phases.
• IDT BiologikacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 February 2026Part of EU HaDEA consortium for influenza vaccine development. IDT Biologika (owned by SK bioscience) leads the consortium submission and provides CDMO capabilities. Over 100 years of vaccine development and manufacturing experience.
• ObvioHealthsupportingTechnology or Integration · 28 October 2025Three-year partnership to support clinical trials using HD-MAP technology with ObvioGo digital trial platform. Decentralized trial capabilities to extend access.
• CEPI (Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 January 2025Partnering on US$4.8M/AU$7.2M program for needle-free thermostable mRNA vaccines. Joint development to eliminate frozen storage requirements for mRNA vaccines.
• US National Institutes of Health (NIH)coreTechnology or Integration · 25 October 2024Licensed next-generation RSV vaccine candidate from NIH for worldwide development using HD-MAP platform.
• University of SydneysupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 May 2022Collaborative study with University of Sydney Institute for Infectious Diseases assessing usability and acceptability of HD-MAP applicator in clinical settings. Published in Journal of Human Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics.
• University of Texas at AustincoreTechnology or Integration · 23 March 2022Exclusively licensed HexaPro spike glycoprotein from UT Austin for use on needle-free vaccine patches. COVID-19 vaccine candidate completed Phase I trials.
• World Health Organization (WHO)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Previous collaboration on simulation of vaccine administration using HD-MAP with children in Low and Middle-Income Countries. WHO has acknowledged MAP technology in pandemic preparedness plans.
• Harro HöfligersupportingTechnology or Integration · 28 May 2020Alliance to develop industrial-scale aseptic processing line for vaccine products based on HD-MAP technology. Supports manufacturing scale-up requirements.
• Merck/MSDcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Collaboration and license agreement where Merck has exclusive rights to utilize Vaxxas' HD-MAP platform for an undisclosed vaccine candidate from Merck's pipeline, with options for two additional vaccines. One of Vaxxas' foundational commercial partnerships.
• University of QueenslandcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2011Core technology (HD-MAP) initially developed at UQ's Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology. Commercialized as startup in 2011 through UniQuest.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Micron Biomedical: Micron Biomedical is the most direct competitor, developing dissolvable microneedle array patches for vaccines and therapeutics. Both target needle-free vaccine delivery with similar microarray patch architectures and are pursuing global health and pandemic preparedness use cases, often competing for the same Gates Foundation, CEPI, and government grant funding.
• Vaxess Technologies: Vaxess is developing a sustained-release microarray patch for vaccine delivery using silk fibroin-based microneedles. Closely comparable technology platform and target use cases (influenza, pandemic preparedness, global health), positioned as a direct peer for both commercial licensing deals and non-dilutive funding opportunities.
• PharmaJet: PharmaJet develops needle-free jet injector devices for vaccine administration (different mechanism but same needle-free vaccine delivery goal). Competes for the same global health and pandemic preparedness customers (WHO, Gates, CEPI) and targets similar market positioning around dose-sparing and cold-chain reduction.

Emerging players

• Corium (transdermal drug delivery): Corium develops transdermal drug and vaccine delivery technologies including microarray and patch systems. Comparable technology overlap in the transdermal/microneedle delivery category, though Corium's primary focus has historically been CNS and small molecule drug delivery rather than vaccines.
• Emergex Vaccines: Emergex is a clinical-stage biotech developing T-cell vaccines using microneedle patch delivery for infectious diseases including pandemic preparedness indications. Comparable stage, technology focus (microneedle delivery), and target indications (pandemic influenza, dengue) make it a relevant emerging peer.

Broad incumbents

• Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD): BD is a global medical device incumbent with established injectable drug delivery and emerging microneedle programs, plus deep relationships with pharmaceutical partners and global health agencies. Represents both a potential partner and a formidable incumbent competitor as microarray patch commercialization scales.
• Merck & Co. (MSD): Merck is Vaxxas' largest licensing partner for HD-MAP and the world's leading vaccine manufacturer (>$10B vaccine business). Both a critical partner and an emerging peer given Merck's option to license HD-MAP across multiple vaccine candidates plus potential internal patch development efforts.
• CSL Seqirus: CSL Seqirus is a global influenza vaccine leader and an Australia-based peer comparable to Vaxxas on geography and target indication (seasonal and pandemic influenza). Relevant given Tom Lake (Vaxxas CBO) has deep CSL/Seqirus domain expertise and Vaxxas' H7N9 and seasonal flu programs target Seqirus's core market.
• Sanofi Pasteur: Sanofi Pasteur is one of the world's largest vaccine manufacturers with deep pandemic preparedness capabilities and prior collaboration with Merck in vaccine manufacturing (Tom Lake's experience). Represents a plausible next licensing partner for HD-MAP and a strategic acquirer given platform synergies.
• GSK Vaccines: GSK is a top-3 global vaccine manufacturer with strong portfolio overlap (influenza, measles/rubella, RSV, typhoid) where Vaxxas is developing HD-MAP programs. Comparable given Angus Forster (Vaxxas CTO/COO) and Tom Lake (Vaxxas CBO) both came from GSK. Plausible strategic partner or acquirer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/vaxxas

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds11 records

Investors12 records

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Vaxxas