Inspired by Innovation

In the latest chapter of his 35-plus-year career in pharma, Thomas Lake (B.S. ’88, biological sciences) is advancing next-generation biotechnology that aims to take the needle out of vaccinations.

Thomas Lake (B.S. ’88, biological sciences) wants to change the way you think about your annual flu shot—or any other vaccination.

“Right now, the protocol is, you can go to your doctor's office or the pharmacy, but you have to schedule it in advance, and it takes time out of your life,” he explained. “What we want you think about is do-it-yourself vaccines—you go online, order it, follow simple instructions and you're done.”

Lake is the chief business officer at Vaxxas, a Brisbane, Australia-based biotechnology company that is pioneering a new approach to preventing disease. The company is developing a next-generation vaccination platform called HD-MAP, a disposable, high-density patch embedded with thousands of microscopic projections, each coated with a small dose of vaccine. When applied, the patch is designed to quickly deliver a vaccine to the immune cells beneath the skin with a simple click of a button.  

“The real potential here is to allow self-administration of vaccines,” Lake said. “We're still a clinical-stage company, but what we envision is, we would send the vaccines to you, you put the device on your arm, you press, you hear a little click, wait about 10 seconds, pull it off and you're done—and you've just done the vaccination yourself.”

Designed to be shelf-stable and easy to use, Vaxxas’ vaccine delivery patch could be stored at room temperature and even delivered to your mailbox. In preliminary trials involving more than 700 participants, the technology has demonstrated safety and strong immune responses against influenza, COVID-19 and other infectious diseases. And there’s one more big plus—no scary needles.  

“This technology has the potential to greatly reduce needle anxiety,” Lake explained. “About 10% of the population will not get a flu vaccine because they're afraid of needles, so we think this technology could really help to increase vaccination rates. It’s going to take cost out of the system and ultimately increase access to vaccines—that's really what it's all about. And we think that the more accessible we can make vaccines, the better it can be for individuals as well as for public health.”

Finding a future in pharma

For Lake, Vaxxas is the latest stop on a more than 35-year career dedicated to vaccine innovation, manufacturing and distribution, working with some of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies. Through it all, he says his degree in biological sciences from the University of Maryland played a pivotal role in his success.

“Being a biology major was crucial; that was something I could leverage every step along the way, sometimes in an extensive way and sometimes in a very small way. To have that thread, that Maryland experience, and have that biology background in my work with vaccines, it’s allowed me to engage deeply with the R&D teams and the clinical teams that I’ve worked with,” Lake noted. “I'm not a Ph.D., but thanks to my background at Maryland, I'm fluent enough in the science to understand the discussion and then translate that to business benefits for the company. And, in my current role at Vaxxas, I'm amazed at how much I'm using biology and immunology every day.”

At Maryland, Lake broadened his understanding of biological processes and scientific methodology, mastering laboratory techniques and critical thinking skills that prepared him for a future in the pharmaceutical industry. 

“Studying biology, it really creates a very strong base from which you can do anything,” Lake said. “That experience as a biology undergrad can open up a lot of doors for anybody, and it definitely did for me.”

After graduating from UMD, Lake started his career as a vaccine technician at Merck in Philadelphia. There, he realized he was just as interested in the business of pharma as he was in the science.

“I thought my career would be as a bench-level scientist, but once I got within the organization and I saw the business side of it and the combination with science, that was really what was exciting to me,” Lake recalled. “I was at Merck for 18 years, and along the way, I realized that I was interested in the broader vaccine business. Working hands-on in vaccine manufacturing gave me exposure to how complex biology translates into a reproducible, regulated, large-scale process, and that was really how I got into vaccines. I sort of stumbled into it, and I've literally been doing vaccines and nothing else ever since.”

Inspired by innovation

While working at Merck, Lake earned an MBA from Villanova University and eventually became Merck’s senior director of vaccine operations. In 2007, he moved on to start a small vaccine administration company, then he returned to big pharma two years later to lead the U.S. vaccine marketing effort at GSK. In 2017, after launching one more successful vaccine-related startup, Lake realized he was ready for a new challenge. That’s when he reached out to Vaxxas.

“I wanted to continue doing something that was innovative and would have a public health impact, so I studied all sorts of technology, and I really landed on this field of microarray patches,” he explained. “I contacted the CEO at Vaxxas, and I said, ‘Look, I've been in vaccines for a long time. I know biology, I know business, how can I help you grow this business?’ I started as a consultant, and I helped the company acquire contracts with governments and pharma companies, and then they brought me on full-time as an employee.”

Now as Vaxxas’ chief business officer, Lake is helping the biotech scale up funding and production for its HD-MAP technology, connecting with pharmaceutical partners around the world to accelerate the path to market. The goal is to commercialize the company’s needle-free vaccine patch within the next few years, but there’s still a long road ahead.

“I continue to be interested in innovation, and my first goal is to bring this product to market, but we’re still a few years down the road,” he said. “Right now, we're in the process of establishing partnerships with large pharma. Since we don't make the vaccines, we need somebody that does, so we're establishing a broad base from which we can ultimately have a number of vaccines to bring to the marketplace. I think just getting this product to market and launching it is going to be really exciting.”

Even after more than 35 years in the field, Lake is still inspired by the business and science of vaccine innovation and development. And he hopes to continue making an impact for many more years to come.

“Vaccines are so interesting to me in that they have such a positive public health benefit—after clean water, vaccines are probably the most cost-effective and impactful public health intervention that one can make,” he noted. “So, for me, following that progression, the innovation and evolution of vaccine development over the years and the impact it’s had on our world, is really rewarding, and to be a part of making them more accessible via an alternative delivery platform, that is exciting.”