CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Affinivax, Inc. ("Affinivax"), a clinical stage biotechnology company advancing a pipeline of vaccines and immunotherapies with its novel MAPS vaccine technology platform, today announced that Frank Malinoski, MD, PhD, has joined the company as Senior Vice President, Clinical Development and Regulatory Affairs. In this role, Dr. Malinoski will lead the development of Affinivax’s MAPS pipeline of vaccines and immunotherapy products. Dr. Malinoski will also work closely with Astellas, Affinivax’s collaboration partner, to continue to advance the development of its pneumococcal MAPS vaccine, currently in Phase 1/2 clinical testing, and nosocomial MAPS vaccine.
“The Affinivax team has enjoyed the privilege of working closely with Frank as an external advisor for the past two years and he has contributed significantly to our success in advancing our lead development program, a MAPS vaccine targeting Streptococcus pneumoniae, into Phase 1/2 clinical trials. We are very pleased to have Frank now join our senior management team,” said Steven Brugger, Chief Executive Officer. “With his broad experience in the successful development and commercialization of multiple vaccines, Frank is uniquely qualified to help drive a broad portfolio of MAPS product candidates to IND submission and through clinical development.”
“Over the past two years, I have experienced first-hand the exciting potential of the MAPS platform and the strength of the Affinivax team,” said Dr. Malinoski. “With its unique ability to present both polysaccharides and proteins to induce a B and T-cell immune response, the MAPS platform represents a potential breakthrough vaccine technology. I am very excited to bring my scientific, clinical, and regulatory experience to Affinivax and advance a pipeline of important new MAPS vaccines and immunotherapies for patients.”
Dr. Malinoski brings to Affinivax over 30 years of executive experience in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries, including work on numerous vaccines and immunotherapy products. He has an extensive background in the fields of vaccines, immunology, oncology, infectious disease and other therapeutic areas. Prior to joining Affinivax, Dr. Malinoski held positions of Chief Medical Officer at Liquidia, Senior Vice President, Medical & Scientific Affairs at MediImmune, and Vice President, Clinical Affairs and Global Business Development at Wyeth (Pfizer), as well as senior leadership and consulting positions at several other biopharmaceutical companies. Dr. Malinoski’s experience includes direct responsibility for clinical development planning, execution, and regulatory interactions for vaccines from Phase I through IV, including the licensure of Prevnar®, Meningitec®, and several combination vaccines, as well as Medical Affairs support for FluMist® and Synagis®. Dr. Malinoski began his career as a Clinical Investigator and Chief of Viral Biology at the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases. He received his BA from Colby College, his PhD in microbiology from Rutgers University, and his MD from Albany Medical College.
About Multiple Antigen Presenting System (MAPS)
The MAPS technology platform uses proprietary chemistry that capitalizes on the highly specific and durable non-covalent, affinity binding between biotin and rhizavidin, a biotin-binding protein. The highly stable MAPS complex created by this affinity binding contributes to a modular and very efficient approach to the development of both preventive and therapeutic vaccines. In stark contrast to the highly complex chemistry of conventional vaccine conjugation (which is optimized to induce protective antibody responses to the polysaccharide antigen), a MAPS vaccine can present both the polysaccharide antigen and the protein antigen to induce a broad and potent B and T-cell immune response. The company has achieved preliminary preclinical proof-of-concept for MAPS vaccines targeting several different bacterial pathogens and is currently advancing its lead vaccine candidate against Streptococcus pneumoniae in clinical trials.
About Affinivax, Inc.
Affinivax is a clinical stage biotechnology company developing a next generation approach in vaccine technologies to design preventive and therapeutic vaccines that provide broader protection against infectious and other immune mediated diseases. The company’s proprietary vaccine platform developed at Boston Children’s Hospital, called Multiple Antigen Presentation System (MAPS), enables the high affinity binding of protective polysaccharides and proteins to uniquely induce a broad and protective immune response. Backed by an initial investment from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and strategic partnerships with Astellas Pharma, Affinivax has retained its independence to drive a high value and diverse product pipeline. Its lead program, a MAPS vaccine targeting Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus), entered Phase 1/2 clinical trials in January 2019. In addition to advancing additional MAPS vaccine candidates targeting healthcare associated infections (HAIs), Affinivax is now extending its MAPS platform towards other immune mediated diseases, with an initial focus on cancer immunotherapy products. For more information, visit www.affinivax.com.
Prevnar® and Meningitec® are registered trademarks of Wyeth.
FluMist®
and Synagis® are registered trademarks of AstraZeneca.
