PharmaJet’s needle-free system to deliver 1.4M polio vaccine doses in Nigeria’s Sokoto campaign

NIGERIA—PharmaJet has announced that its WHO-prequalified Tropis ID needle-free injection system will deliver approximately 1.4 million doses of fractional inactivated polio vaccine (fIPV) during upcoming immunization campaigns in Nigeria.

This marks a major step in the country’s efforts to strengthen protection against circulating poliovirus outbreaks.

The initiative will target children under five in Sokoto State, northwestern Nigeria, in partnership with the African Field Epidemiology Network.

The deployment follows the company’s recent expansion of needle-free vaccine delivery programs across Africa and Asia as global health agencies intensify efforts to eradicate polio.

Although Nigeria has remained free of wild poliovirus, the country continues to record cases of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2), with national surveillance data reporting 66 cases in 2025.

To address this challenge, the government has committed to ending all forms of poliovirus transmission by 2030 through stronger surveillance, routine immunization programs, and supplementary immunization activities integrated into broader community health outreach initiatives.

In this context, fractional-dose intradermal delivery offers a practical solution by extending vaccine supplies while simplifying logistics and lowering operational costs.

Evidence from Nigerian trials

The Sokoto deployment builds on findings from an extensive randomized controlled implementation study conducted in Nigeria in collaboration with PATH, Jhpiego, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, and Sydani Group.

Published in the journal Vaccines, the study found that Tropis-delivered fIPV increased second-dose IPV coverage by 11.2% compared to conventional needle-based administration.

Researchers also reported up to a 47% reduction in total immunization costs, equivalent to potential long-term savings of about US$50 million for Nigeria’s immunization program over five years.

In addition, 97% of healthcare workers preferred the system because it reduced administration time and improved workflow efficiency.

These findings have strengthened confidence in scaling the technology for broader public health use.

Training and broader expansion

To prepare for the campaign, master trainers conducted hands-on instruction sessions across nine local government areas in April, equipping healthcare workers with the skills needed to administer the device effectively during house-to-house vaccination drives.

Commenting on the rollout, Dr. Wouter Latour said the company’s experience supporting campaigns in Pakistan since 2018 helped demonstrate the operational advantages of needle-free delivery.

He noted that more than 20 million Tropis pediatric injections have now been supplied globally, contributing to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.

Beyond polio, PharmaJet recently announced new partnerships to evaluate Tropis for tuberculosis skin testing in Brazil, signaling broader momentum for the technology in vaccine delivery and infectious disease prevention worldwide.