GeoVax On Track to Deliver Vaccine for Category A Bioterrorism Agent, Marburg Virus
GeoVax Labs, Inc. (Nasdaq: GOVX) has received notice of allowance for a patent for its Marburg virus vaccine candidate. The patent, “Replication-Deficient Modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA) Expressing Marburg Virus Glycoprotein (GP) and Matrix Protein (VP40)”, cover GeoVax’s vector platform for expressing Marburg virus antigens in virus-like particles utilizing an MVA viral vector.
David Dodd, GeoVax President and CEO, said, “Developing vaccines against lethal hemorrhagic fever viruses represents our commitment to addressing highly fatal endemic threats throughout the world. Our team is committed to supporting the successful advancement of such a vaccine, as we recognize the critically important medical and biodefense need, reflected by the inclusion of Marburg virus in the FDA Priority Review Voucher program.”
There are currently no licensed vaccines or therapeutics against the diseases caused by Marburg virus
Highlights
GeoVax’s MVA-VLP derived vaccines can elicit durable immune responses in the host similar to a live-attenuated virus, while providing the safety characteristics of a replication-defective vector.
Marburg virus is a hemorrhagic fever virus of the Filoviridae family, which also includes Ebola virus, and causes severe human disease with up to a 90% fatality rate. It is rated by the World Health Organization as a Risk Group 4 Pathogen.
In the United States, Marburg virus is ranked as a Category A Priority Pathogen and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists it as a Category A Bioterrorism Agent.
About Geovax
GeoVax Labs, Inc. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel therapies and vaccines for solid tumor cancers and many of the world’s most threatening infectious diseases. The company’s lead program in oncology is a novel oncolytic solid tumor gene-directed therapy, Gedeptin®, presently in a multicenter Phase 1/2 clinical trial for advanced head and neck cancers. GeoVax’s lead infectious disease candidate is GEO-CM04S1, a next-generation COVID-19 vaccine targeting high-risk immunocompromised patient populations. Currently in three Phase 2 clinical trials, GEO-CM04S1 is being evaluated as a primary vaccine for immunocompromised patients such as those suffering from hematologic cancers and other patient populations for whom the current authorized COVID-19 vaccines are insufficient, and as a booster vaccine in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). In addition, GEO-CM04S1 is in a Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating the vaccine as a more robust, durable COVID-19 booster among healthy patients who previously received the mRNA vaccines. GeoVax has a leadership team who have driven significant value creation across multiple life science companies over the past several decades. For more information, visit our website: www.geovax.com.
