Looking to cutting-edge research to develop a global presence in vaccines, Astellas Pharma has in-licensed worldwide rights to a next-generation pneumococcal vaccine candidate from US-based start-up Affinivax for US$10 M upfront. The preclinical asset, which is a potential successor to Pfizer’s blockbuster Prevnar® franchise, is based on Affinivax’s proprietary multiple antigen-presenting system (MAPS) platform and potentially could provide broader protection against invasive disease than currently available vaccines.