With Prevnar Challenger Fully Funded, Affinivax Raises $120m For Other Novel Vaccines

Astellas is funding the company’s Phase II vaccine against 24 pneumococcal serotypes. Affinivax will use its series B venture cash to advance its MAPS vaccines for bacterial and viral infections and cancer.

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Affinivax is developing pneumococcal and other vaccines with its MAPS platform • Source: Shutterstock

Affinivax Inc. has been working on its Multiple Antigen Presenting System (MAPS) for the development of novel vaccines for six years and advanced a potential competitor to Pfizer Inc.’s blockbuster pneumococcal vaccine Prevnar 13 into Phase II testing without raising a big venture capital funding round. Now, with plans to advance its other vaccines against bacterial infections and investigate the MAPS technology in viral infections and cancer, the company has closed a $120m series B round.

Cambridge, MA-based Affinivax launched in 2014, but CEO Steven Brugger explained that the company had to piece together its early funding with seed and series A investments by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and grant funding from the global non-profit PATH due to a lack of interest from venture capital investors in novel, preclinical vaccine technologies. The company also partnered with Astellas Pharma Inc. in 2017, which provided funding for clinical development of its first pneumococcal vaccine

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