The 8th International Conference on Microneedles - Pathways to Products, taking place from 11-14 May 2025 in Brisbane, is set to be a milestone event as the first of its kind in the southern hemisphere.
To be held at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, the conference will convene global vaccine leaders, as well as experts from academia, industry, government, and philanthropic organisations, to explore the impact of microneedle technology in transforming the healthcare sector.
In recent years, microneedle technology has attracted growing interest for its transformative potential to improve transdermal drug delivery, diagnostics, and vaccine administration. The conference will delve into the latest advancements in the field, covering research, design, development and commercialisation while also highlighting Australia's role in advancing such technologies. It will emphasise the potential for an Australian-made product to lead the market and revolutionise global vaccination.
Australian biotech company and Ausbiotech member Vaxxas’ high-density microarray patch (HD-MAP) could play a key role in strengthening future sovereign health strategies by offering a needle-free alternative to delivering vaccines quickly and effectively for both routine and pandemic responses.
A spin-out of The University of Queensland’s (UQ) UniQuest group, Vaxxas continues to collaborate with Associate Professor David Muller’s lab at UQ’s School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences in the Faculty of Science on the growing evidence for microneedles’ transformative potential in delivering life-saving vaccines.
Microneedle technology also has great potential on a global scale, and the conference is delighted to have among its confirmed speakers the former Chief Executive Officer of the Bill and Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute and a highly respected figure in global vaccine development, Dr Emilio Emini, who will open the event with a keynote address.
Dr Emini's extensive experience and contributions to global immunisation strategies will provide valuable insights as to why the world’s healthcare leaders need to establish alternative ways to deliver vaccines that help to address declining vaccination rates in some regions while in others to ensure these life-saving vaccines are available at all.
Alongside Dr Emini, a lineup of renowned global experts including Mark Prausnitz, Regent's Professor and Vaccine Theme Leader at Georgia Institute of Technology, industry veteran and former Pfizer executive Rochelle Chaiken, and Paul Griffin, Director of Infectious Diseases at Mater Health Services and Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Queensland, will share their perspectives into the latest breakthroughs in microneedle technology, exploring new applications, key challenges, and future possibilities in the field.
The full speaker lineup and preliminary program are available on the conference website.
Interested industry professionals can secure their attendance and take advantage of the extension on early bird registration rates until Wednesday, 12 March.