Corner Therapeutics Appoints Rick Malley, M.D., to Serve on Scientific Advisory Board

By: Corner Therapeutics, Inc. via Business Wire

April 25, 2023 at 08:00 AM EDT

Corner Therapeutics, a biotechnology company exploiting a new scientific paradigm to boost the intelligence of the natural immune response to disease, today announced the appointment of Rick Malley, M.D., to their Scientific Advisory Board. Malley is experienced in pediatric infectious disease, with his prior work focused on developing novel vaccine platforms and pneumococcal vaccines.

Corner has developed proprietary chemical mimics called DC hyperactivators, which stimulate durable protective immunity through the production of polyclonal populations of long-lived memory T cells. DC hyperactivators operate by stimulating inflammasome activities within dendritic cells, which function to orchestrate T cell immunity. Corner’s technology is particularly effective at inducing protective immunity in elderly or immunocompromised populations, where immune system dysfunction raises the risk of infection and cancer.

“As a physician and vaccine researcher, I am very excited about the potential of the work Corner is doing to develop a new class of immunotherapies to generate immunity for life,” said Rick Malley, M.D. “It is an honor to be in a position to share my experience and knowledge in this field with the team at Corner as they continue to develop this pioneering technology and their pipeline.”

Malley is a Senior Physician and the Kenneth McIntosh Chair in Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Boston Children’s Hospital. He has a long history of leadership in the field of infectious disease, most notably in his studies on the pathogenesis and prevention of bacterial and viral infections. In 2014, Malley and collaborators started Affinivax, a biotechnology company focused on a novel technology called MAPS (Multiple Antigen Presenting System) to develop vaccines for both developed and developing countries. A 24-valent pneumococcal MAPS vaccine that received breakthrough designation by the US FDA, is currently in Phase 2 in infants and has successfully been studied in Phase 2 in older adults, with Phase 3 clinical trials to begin soon. He served as Chief Scientific Officer at Affinivax, and with Affinivax’s acquisition by GSK, became the clinical representative of the pneumococcal vaccine program and Chief MAPS scientist at GSK x Affinivax. Malley received his early education at Ecole Active Bilingue in Paris France, then a BA from Yale University, MD from Tufts University, and pediatrics, pediatric infectious diseases and emergency medicine training at Boston Children’s Hospital.

“We are very lucky to have Rick join the SAB at this exciting time in the company’s growth,” said Steven M. Altschuler, M.D., CEO and Board Chair of Corner. “His expertise in the fields of infectious disease and vaccine development align perfectly with Corner’s goal to advance our first program through IND and into the clinic.”

Dr. Rick Malley is a scientific advisor and has equity in Corner Therapeutics. Boston Children’s Hospital is also an equity holder in Corner Therapeutics.

About Corner Therapeutics, Inc.

Corner Therapeutics is a privately held biotech company developing a new class of multi-purpose dendritic cell-targeting immunotherapies that induce robust memory T cell responses. Corner Therapeutics is exploiting a new scientific paradigm to boost the intelligence of the natural immune response through dendritic cell hyperactivation. Our unique approach engages dendritic cell inflammasomes to induce exceptional memory T cell responses critical for lifelong immunity. Our platform is antigen-agnostic and aims to address an exceptionally wide range of difficult-to-treat cancers and infectious diseases. Corner's therapy will usher in a new era of rapid, patient-friendly and low-cost treatments able to induce complete and durable protective immunity. Our foundational science originated from the Kagan and Karp labs at the Harvard Medical School and is being advanced by pioneers of immunotherapy. For more information, please visit https://cornertx.com