ClearPath has initiated a third research collaboration with Astellas Pharma to combat infections. The new collaboration, executed by a ClearPath subsidiary, ClearPath Vaccines Company will leverage a vaccine design platform invented at Boston Children's Hospital to develop a vaccine to prevent Staphylococcus aureus infections, a major pathogen for health care associated infections (HAI).
HAIs, such as those caused by S. aureus, represent a major public health burden, costing the US healthcare system an estimated $9.8 billion annually (1). Currently, there is no vaccine available for any of the major nosocomial pathogens like Staphylococcus aureus and including organisms that are responsible for the majority of highly antibiotic resistant bacteria. In 2015, ClearPath and Astellas formed the Nosocomial Vaccine Corporation (NVC), to develop vaccines targeted at other nosocomial pathogens including those with multiple antibiotic resistance.
"HAIs are a significant global health concern and preventing them will require vaccines targeting many different pathogens," said George Siber, M.D., Chief Scientific Officer, ClearPath Vaccines. "Our work with Boston Children's Hospital allows us to leverage the highly innovative Multiple Antigen-Presenting System (MAPS) for creating novel vaccine formulations that may provide broad protection against the most challenging pathogens."
The ClearPath Vaccines development team will be led by Dr. Siber and Donna Ambrosino, M.D., industry leading vaccine experts each with more than 35 years of experience. Prior to joining ClearPath, Dr. Siber was Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer of Wyeth Vaccines Research where he oversaw the approval and marketing of six childhood vaccines including Prevnar, Meningitec, Rotashield and FluMist. Dr. Ambrosino previously served as CEO of MassBiologics and oversaw development of monoclonal antibody products including Rabishield for prevention of rabies launched in 2017 by Serum Institute of India and Bezlotoxumab for C. difficile, launched by Merck in 2017.
The team at Boston Children's Hospital will be led by Rick Malley, M.D. a recognized professional in infectious diseases, vaccine development, and a co-inventor of the MAPS platform technology with Drs. Fan Zhang and Yingjie Lu.