Pfizer Purchases PowderMed

Pfizer has agreed to purchase PowderMed (London, England, www.powdermed.com), a British company that develops DNA-based vaccines. The company has developed a proprietary needle-free delivery system that delivers DNA-coated microscopic gold particles into the skin using pressurized helium gas. The particles penetrate the epidermal layer of the skin, activating cells that in turn trigger an immune response.