Half of vaccines are binned - fridge-free versions could change that

Medical logistics and the strict temperature control required to transport vaccines from manufacturing plants to patients arms, known as the cold chain, could soon undergo a massive transformation following a successful clinical trial by UK scientists.

The World Health Organization estimates that approximately half of all vaccines globally are discarded annually, largely driven by cold chain failures, expiration dates, and transport damages. This issue hits the poorest, most remote regions, and war zones hardest where reliable electricity and refrigerators are scarce.

Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event

In the recent trial involving 60 volunteers, biotech company Stablepharma converted a liquid tetanus-diphtheria vaccine into a fridge-free version by drying it into a powder that remained stable at room temperature for a full year before being reconstituted with water and injected.

This innovative delivery method draws inspiration from resurrection plants, which dry out and appear dead during droughts before coming back to life when rain arrives. These plants produce high volumes of a sugar called trehalose, which stabilizes plant cells under extreme dryness. Researchers applied trehalose to protect the vital components of the tetanus-diphtheria vaccine during the drying process.