CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Affinivax Inc., a biotechnology company dedicated to developing novel vaccines, today announced it has entered into a collaboration agreement with Nosocomial Vaccine Corporation (NVC), established by ClearPath Development Company with the support of its partner, Astellas Pharma Inc. The collaboration will utilize Affinivax’s proprietary vaccine platform, Multiple Antigen Presentation System (MAPS), to develop vaccines to prevent bacterial nosocomial infections, also referred to as health-care associated infections (HAIs). The collaboration includes funding from NVC sufficient to support the development of product candidates to advance towards clinical testing.
HAIs are a significant global health concern, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimating that 4% of patients in the U.S. will contract an HAI each year in medical facilities, including ambulatory surgical centers, hospice centers, nursing homes and rehabilitation centers. JAMA Internal Medicine has reported that HAIs cost $9.8 billion annually in the U.S. alone. Bacterial nosocomial infections represent one of the most common HAIs, caused by bacteria that are highly resistant to available antibiotic therapies. In addition to the limitations of current treatments against nosocomial infections, there are no vaccines available today for prevention.
“Health-care associated infections represent a major medical challenge today for healthcare workers and patients, and development of a vaccine for prevention of these deadly infections would achieve a major public health goal,” said Dr. Richard Malley, Affinivax’s scientific founder, Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and Kenneth McIntosh Chair in Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Boston Children’s Hospital. “I am thrilled to see Affinivax now advance our MAPS vaccines beyond Streptococcus pneumoniae and potentially having a significant impact on patient care by preventing these treatment-resistant infections.”
“We are very pleased to have the opportunity to work with NVC to deploy Affinivax’s technology for this important initiative to develop a vaccine to prevent nosocomial infections,” said Steven B. Brugger, CEO of Affinivax. “This collaboration provides us the opportunity to leverage the power of the MAPS technology to develop vaccines that can protect against infectious diseases, such as nosocomial infections, for which there are no effective immunization strategies available for children and adults today.”
About Affinivax
Affinivax is advancing a next generation
vaccine technology platform to enable the development of vaccines that
provide the highest level of protection against challenging infectious
diseases. Backed by an investment from the Bill
& Melinda Gates Foundation, and working with world experts in
vaccine discovery and development, Affinivax is focused on creating a
pipeline of vaccines for children and adults in both the developed and
developing worlds. The company’s proprietary vaccine platform, called
Multiple Antigen Presentation System (MAPS), enables the high affinity
binding of protective polysaccharides and proteins in a single vaccine
and uniquely induces a broad and protective immune response. The MAPS
technology provides a highly stable, modular, and efficient approach to
develop vaccines against a wide range of diseases. The company has
achieved preliminary preclinical proof-of-concept for several MAPS
vaccines and is currently advancing its lead vaccine candidate against Streptococcus
pneumoniae. For more information, visit www.affinivax.com.
About Nosocomial Vaccine Company
Nosocomial Vaccine
Corporation (NVC), based in Rockville, MD was established by ClearPath
Development Company (ClearPath) with the support of its partner,
Astellas Pharma Inc. The strategic partnership between ClearPath and
Astellas was formed to support Astellas’ goal of building a global
vaccine franchise. NVC is collaborating with Affinivax Inc. and
University of Maryland School of Medicine to develop a nosocomial
vaccine. ClearPath also launched RSV Corporation as part of this
strategic partnership, in December 2013.
About ClearPath Development Company
ClearPath Development
Company, based in Rockville, MD, is a subsidiary of RRD International,
which works with leading biopharmaceutical companies to expand product
pipeline opportunities with complementary development and finance
capabilities. Its business model provides biopharmaceutical companies
with an alternative mechanism for accelerating product development. This
model is highly capital-efficient for development of early-stage assets,
enables accelerated development for existing company assets and external
assets under consideration for in-licensing, and helps de-risk
development projects with tailored financing structures. For more
information, visit www.clearpathdevco.com.
About Astellas
Astellas Pharma Inc., based in Tokyo, Japan,
is a company dedicated to improving the health of people around the
world through the provision of innovative and reliable pharmaceutical
products. We focus on Urology, Oncology, Immunology, Nephrology and
Neuroscience as prioritized therapeutic areas while advancing new
therapeutic areas and discovery research leveraging new
technologies/modalities. We are also creating new value by combining
internal capabilities and external expertise in the medical/healthcare
business. Astellas is on the forefront of healthcare change to turn
innovative science into value for patients. For more information, please
visit our website at www.astellas.com/en.