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Xconomy: Backed by Gates, Affinivax ramps up Velcro-like vaccine tech

By Ben Fidler

October 30, 2014

Prevnar 13 is a vaccine that, as its name suggests, protects against 13 of the most common strains of pneumococcal bacteria, which can cause deadly pneumonia and meningitis infections. There’s just one problem: there are around 90 total strains of pneumococcus that can cause disease. What about the other ones?

A new startup with backing by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation called Affinivax claims it’s created a vaccine to protect against all 90. Now comes the hard part: scaling up, proving it in clinical trials, and making a successful business out of it.

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