Global CFO Excellence Awards 2021

12 Acquisition International - Global CFO Excellence Awards 2021 Mar21520 Vaccine Development CFO of the Year (North Atlantic USA): Aziz Friedrich While it may not be the first infection we may think of at the moment when we hear the word ‘pandemic’, herpes is nonetheless a devastating viral infection that similarly affects millions worldwide. Yet the work to find a vaccine is still in progress. Rational Vaccines, the Massachusetts based pre-clinical stage disease company is leading the way in this work with its use of a pioneering concept of modern medicine: rationally engineered attenuated live viruses. ased in Massachusetts USA, Rational Vaccines is an investigational-stage infectious disease company focused on combatting all diseases resulting from herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) and herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2) infections. The team at Rational Vaccines was founded on the aim of advancing a proven approach in applied science: the use of attenuated live viruses to develop a new class of rationally engineered vaccines, as well as innovative immunotherapies for herpes. The concept of attenuated live viral vaccination is one that was employed in one of the greatest feats of modern medicine, the eradication of the smallpox virus, and in the case of Rational Vaccines utilizes technology based on the pioneering research of the late Dr. William Halford. Dr. Halford, a Professor of Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Cell Biology at the Southern Illinois University, dedicated over 25 years to the study of HSV-1 and HSV-2 before his death in 2017. HSV, more commonly referred to as herpes, affects millions of people worldwide of all ages, and has been shown to interact with other pandemic pathogens and thereby increase their impact and transmissibility. The two strains of the virus can cause oral and genital herpes, and both are lifelong infections, sometimes asymptomatic, sometimes with a range of symptoms that vary in frequency and severity. For some, herpes manifests as blisters or ulcers at the site of infection, for others as debilitating neuralgia, skin splits, fissures, minor abrasions, erythema, fever, chills and myalgias. The infection can also be devastating for newborns when it presents itself as neonatal herpes and can worsen conditions like HIV and Ocular Disease. It may also play a role in the onset and progression of Alzheimer’s. A transmissible disease that is often passed on sexually, herpes patients also suffer the added adversity of the social stigma and isolation that is still attached to the virus, despite it being such a widespread infection. Developing immunotherapies to help suppress HSV symptoms, including viral shedding, is therefore an urgent public health priority. Fortunately, Rational Vaccines is taking a groundbreaking approach to combatting the herpes pandemic beyond traditional vaccines. Recognizing that symptomatic herpetic disease is a condition of immune-tolerance, Rational Vaccines’ immunotherapies involve introducing a live-attenuated mutant of the herpes virus – that is to say, a safe viral vaccine strain that contains full antigenic breadth and B must be sufficiently active to go through at least several cycles of replication so as to stimulate a response in the body, but weakened enough so it can be effectively controlled by the host – into the body. The virus can safely replicate and infect new cells at the site of infection and the patient may elicit a wide enough immune response so as to act as an immune modulator. Through this form of immunotherapy, the scientists at Rational Vaccines hope to give patients greater control over the symptoms they experience upon the reactivation of their wild type herpetic infection. Mr. Aziz Friedrich, CFO and VP of Operations for Rational Vaccines, who is this year celebrating his title as Vaccine Development CFO of the Year (North Atlantic USA) for his work with Rational Vaccines, comes from a background in biotechnology, startup entrepreneurialism and commercial real estate, having served as the Vice President of Soho Properties prior to joining Rational Vaccines. In taking on the role of CFO and VP of Operations, Aziz was able to pursue his passion for improving human health and positively impacting health equity issues as a serial angel investor, executive, and advisor to life science and health technology companies. His award-winning work is contributing to the life-changing efforts of Rational Vaccines as it looks ahead. In the immediate future, however, the focus of Rational Vaccines is not exclusively focused upon eliminating herpes but on combatting Covid-19 as well. Using its platform that is designed to battle viral illnesses, Rational Vaccines is developing the ABVIC™ SARS-CoV-2 IgG Test” as a high accuracy serological assay for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in human blood samples. While a variety of SARS-CoV-2 (a causative agent of COVID-19) antibody assays have been developed, most suffer from poor performance – Rational Vaccines is aiming for an antibody test with higher sensitivity and superior results, thereby playing its part in the detection of COVID-19 and the deceleration of the Coronavirus pandemic. Looking further ahead, Agustin Fernandez is feeling optimistic about his vision of a future with seamless distribution of Rational Vaccines HSV vaccines and immunotherapies across the world. The technology itself is shown to be safe and effective in preclinical models and the company has multiple HSV immunotherapy and prophylactic vaccine candidates that are in development, meaning that hopefully one day in the not too distant future these vaccines and therapies will be able to be rolled out across the planet.