Objective Vaccination has been acknowledged as one of the most effective methods against life-threatening diseases. Vaccines administered by the mucosal route (oral, vaginal…) present the advantage to be needle-free and reduce the risk of pathogen transmission. Among the existing mucosal vaccines, the sublingual ones are an interesting way of immunization since the sublingual mucosa is particularly thin and would allow easy penetration of antigens. Also, this administration allows to bypass the gastrointestinal tract, has better safety record than intranasal vaccines and have better compliance for vaccinating infants and children. Additionally, they have a fast removal by body fluids and enzymes. PolyVac introduces a pioneering system for controlled targeted delivery of bioactive molecules and, for the proof of concept envisages the development of a sublingual vaccine for HIV. This concept comprises the development of a free-standing (FS) multilayer membrane that will present the double specificity to be immunoactive and specifically target the immune cells. To achieve this end, the FS will be loaded with a model antigen for immunotherapy and a chemotactic cytokine to specifically target the antigen presenting cells. Once loaded with the proteins, the FS membrane will become a bioactive patch. This patch will permit to deliver subunit vaccine components both spatially and temporally as dendritic cells will be attracted at the sublingual mucosa/patch interface ensuring efficient immune responses. Preclinical studies will follow in mice, by monitoring their immune response, for clinical translation and commercialisation of the proposed technology. It is expected to have, as final product, an innovative sublingual patch for human immunotherapy that among the advantages presented above will also overcome one of the main drawbacks of injected vaccines that is the storage at around 4°C. Overcoming this issue they could be widely used for immunotherapy in the developing countries. Fields of science medical and health sciencesbasic medicineimmunologyimmunisationnatural scienceschemical sciencespolymer sciencesmedical and health scienceshealth sciencesinfectious diseasesRNA virusesHIVmedical and health sciencesbasic medicinepharmacology and pharmacypharmaceutical drugsvaccinesmedical and health sciencesbasic medicineimmunologyimmunotherapy Programme(s) H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Main Programme H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility Topic(s) MSCA-IF-2016 - Individual Fellowships Call for proposal H2020-MSCA-IF-2016 See other projects for this call Funding Scheme MSCA-IF-EF-ST - Standard EF Coordinator CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRS Net EU contribution € 173 076,00 Address Rue michel ange 3 75794 Paris France See on map Region Ile-de-France Ile-de-France Paris Activity type Research Organisations Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding € 0,00