Industry veteran brings over 30 years of development and commercial
experience across multiple vaccine and immunotherapy products
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.
Contacts
Kathryn Morris
The Yates Network
914-204-6412
kathryn@theyatesnetwork.com