Burlington biotech company provides a dose of the future

A Burlington biotechnology company is changing the way people take their medicine - and the future of vaccine delivery.

Earlier this month, BurlingtonToday visited Rapid Dose Therapeutics as Oakville North-Burlington MPP Effie Triantafilopoulos toured the Walker's Line faclity and learned about the company's drug dosing technology.

The company received $75,000 from Ontario’s Centre of Innovation investments (OCI) in Life Sciences to begin work on a concept to embed vaccines into its trademarked QuickStrip thin film delivery platform.

Rapid Dose's innovations have revolutionized drug delivery via the strips, including for products such as: Vitamin B12, Xylitol, energy (40 mg caffeine), and melatonin for sleep. Oral thin films are ultra-thin films made from dissolvable polymers, designed to deliver drugs quickly when placed in the mouth.

Triantafilopoulos toured the company, which employs about 80 people. QuickStrip is a thin, orally dissolvable film that can be infused with an infinite list of active ingredients, including nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals and vaccines, that are delivered quickly into the bloodstream, resulting in rapid onset of the active ingredient.

According to company founder and chief executive officer Mark Upsdell, the strips melt in 15 seconds, and within 60 seconds, the ingredients can be in the bloodstream and in just three minutes, they can start to work – a stark contrast to the 20 minutes or more needed for a similar medication taken as a pill.

To that end, the company’s chief scientist, Ben MacPhail, said they are now looking at using the strips to deliver things such as COVID vaccines and more. Although that will be years in the future, the funding provided by the OCI will help make it possible.

Upsdell said the company has already been in talks with a specific maker of vaccines and they will begin working together to make that happen one day.

Triantafilopoulos, who is the parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, which provides OCI funding, was excited to learn more about the company. 

“You are a shining example of a Burlington success story and a made-in-Ontario success story,” she said, noting that Rapid Dose has already been able to secure one new trademark and bring on four new employees, working collaboratively with McMaster University.

She added that the arrangement is a perfect example of academia and industry collaborating to solve industry issues.

In this case, vaccines taken orally would eliminate the need for needles, making it a patient-friendly alternative to traditional methods. It also means that vaccines could be delivered around the world, without having to take into consideration refrigeration; costs would be reduced as well. The thin strips can be stored at room temperature.

Upsdell said the strips would also eliminate the use of additional “ingredients” that many people shy away from when it comes to choosing a vaccine.

Triantafilopoulos said that since 2020, Ontario has attracted more than $3 billion in life sciences investments, making this province the largest life sciences jurisdiction in Canada. They employ some 70,000 people in more than 2,000 companies, generating $65 billion in revenue.

Upsdell said his teams have collaborated with experts from McMaster, allowing them access to world-class laboratories and connections within the scientific community.

“With ongoing support and resources, we are committed to advancing our technology, and provide the world with an alternative to needle-based vaccine delivery,” he said.