Disclosed and claimed are methods of non-invasive immunization and drug delivery in an animal and/or methods of inducing a systemic immune or therapeutic response in an animal following topical application of non-replicative vectors, products therefrom and uses for the methods and products therefrom. Also disclosed and claimed are methods of non-invasive immunization and drug delivery in an animal and/or a method of inducing a systemic immune response or systemic therapeutic response to a gene product comprising contacting skin of the animal with cell-free extracts in an amount effective to induce the response, wherein the extracts are prepared by filtration of disrupted cells, wherein the cell comprises and expresses a nucleic acid molecule. Preferably, the cell is temporarily disrupted by sonication, remaining intact and viable after the sonication. Also, methods are disclosed and claimed for enhancing the immunogenicity and efficacy of an epicutaneous vaccine for inducing a systemic immune response to an antigen, in an animal comprising contacting skin of the animal with vaccines admixed with heat-shock protein 27, in an amount effective to induce the response. The methods include contacting skin of the animal with a vector in an amount effective to induce the systemic immune or therapeutic response. The vector can include and express an exogenous nucleic acid molecule encoding an epitope or gene product of interest. The systemic immune response can be to or from the epitope or gene product. The nucleic acid molecule can encode an epitope or antigen of interest and/or a nucleic acid molecule that stimulates and/or modulates an immunological response and/or stimulates and/or modulates expression, e.g., transcription and/or translation, such as transcription and/or translation of an endogenous and/or exogenous nucleic acid molecule； e.g., one or more of influenza hemagglutinin, influenza nuclear protein, influenza M2, tetanus toxin C-fragment, anthrax protective an
