GlaxoSmithKline PLC struck a deal with an Austrian firm to develop needle-free vaccines delivered through a patch, a technology that could broaden vaccine use by eliminating painful needles and the need for vaccine to be refrigerated.

The move by Glaxo comes three months after Johnson & Johnson bought an 18 per cent stake in Dutch vaccine maker Crucell NV.

Glaxo will dole out 33.6 million euros ($49.5 million) to Intercell to form an alliance to develop and market vaccine patches for travelers' diarrhea and pandemic influenza. The London-based drugmaker also will buy a 1.9 percent stake for 28 million euros, and can increase its holding to 5 per cent by paying another 56 million euros if clinical trials are successful, the companies said today.

Establishing vaccines without needles has been a goal of public-health officials and drug companies for some time and refrigerating vaccines limit vaccine use in countries where electricity isn't always available, Thomas Lingelbach, chief operating officer of Intercell, said.

To make a patch product, the vaccine is formulated as a liquid and then applied to a patch and dried. The substance seeps into the skin and travels to the lymph nodes, where it induces an immune response.

The first two vaccines Glaxo and Intercell are meant for the developed world. Jean-Paul Prieels, senior vice president of vaccine research and development at Glaxo, said the companies will seek to develop other patch vaccines.

Intercell now has deals with five vaccine makers, Novartis, Pfizer Inc., Merck & Co. and Sanofi-Aventis SA and Glaxo.