ATLANTA, GA, Oct. 24, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NewMediaWire – GeoVax Labs, Inc. (Nasdaq: GOVX), a biotechnology company developing immunotherapies and vaccines against cancers and infectious diseases, today announced an update on key strategic initiatives.

“The third quarter marked advancements in our next-generation COVID-19 vaccine clinical programs and our cancer therapy program, along with advanced manufacturing developments, and new patents issued for our Ebola, Marburg, Malaria, and HIV vaccines. I look forward to sharing more details about these developments during our upcoming investor/analyst earnings call on November 8,” said David Dodd, GeoVax’s Chairman and CEO.

“We believe this is a defining moment for the Company, as we expand the full potential of a next-generation COVID-19 vaccine (GEO-CM04S1) currently in three Phase 2 clinical trials and the broad application of Gedeptin^® against solid tumors. We are gearing up to announce initial data readouts from two of these trials, along with updates from our Gedeptin clinical trial against advanced head and neck cancer as well as other important corporate developments. We believe that these upcoming catalysts will have a profound impact on patients in need and all our stakeholders.”

Recent Company Highlights

GEO-CM04S1

• Investigator-Initiated Clinical Trial Begins, “Randomized Observer-Blinded Phase 2 Trial of COVID-19 Booster with GEO-CM04S1 or Pfizer-BioNtech Bivalent Vaccine in Patients with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia.”
  • Trial is rapidly enrolling patients, progressing towards an interim data review.

• Enrollment Target Completed for Phase 2 Clinical Trial Evaluating GEO-CM04S1 as a Booster for Healthy Patients Who Have Previously Received the Pfizer or Moderna mRNA Vaccine.
  • Initial data readout is expected soon.

• GeoVax Next-Generation COVID-19 Vaccine (GEO-CM04S1) Demonstrated Potent Antibody and Cellular Immunity in Immunocompromised Patients.
  • The journal, Vaccines, publishes data (GEO-CM04S1 Publication) from GeoVax’s Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating the safety and immunogenicity of GEO-CM04S1 next-generation COVID-19 vaccine, compared to either the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna mRNA-based vaccine in patients who have previously received an allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant, an autologous hematopoietic cell transplant or CAR-T cell therapy.

• GeoVax Universal COVID-19 Vaccine Data Presented at Keystone Symposia Conference.
  • Abstract Title: MVA-vector multi-antigen COVID-19 vaccines induce protective immunity against SARS-CoV-2 variants spanning Alpha to Omicron in preclinical animal modes.
  • Data revealed: GEO-CM02 vaccine induced immune responses that were efficacious against the original Wuhan strain and BA.1 Omicron variant with a single dose.

Gedeptin^®

• Gedeptin^® Clinical Data presented at the AACR-AHNS Head and Neck Cancer Conference
  • Abstract Title: Phase 1/2 study of Ad/PNB with Fludarabine for the Treatment of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (HNSCC).
  • Data revealed: FDA-funded study reveals that administration of Gedeptin® is safe and feasible.

Advanced Vaccine Manufacturing Process

• GeoVax and ProBioGen announced the signing of a landmark commercial license agreement for ProBioGen’s groundbreaking AGE1.CR.pIX® suspension cell line. The agreement empowers GeoVax to enhance the manufacturing capabilities of its entire Modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA)-based vaccine portfolio.

Intellectual Property Developments

• GeoVax announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a Notice of Allowance for Patent Application No. 17/584,231 titled patent titled “Replication Deficient Modified Vaccina Ankara (MVA) Expressing Marburg Virus Glycoprotein (GP) and Matrix Protein (VP40).”
• GeoVax announced that the U.S Patent and Trademark Office has issued a Notice of Allowance for Patent Application No. 17/409,574 titled “Multivalent HIV Vaccine Boost Compositions and Methods of Use.”
• GeoVax announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a Notice of Allowance for Patent Application No. 17/726,254 titled “Compositions and Methods for Generating an Immune Response to Treat or Prevent Malaria.”
• GeoVax announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued Patent No. 11,701,418 B2 to GeoVax, pursuant to the Company’s patent application No. 15/543,139 titled “Replication-Deficient Modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA) and Matrix Protein (VP40).”

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. 

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements regarding GeoVax’s business plans. The words “believe,” “look forward to,” “may,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “should,” “plan,” “could,” “target,” “potential,” “is likely,” “will,” “expect” and similar expressions, as they relate to us, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs. Actual results may differ materially from those included in these statements due to a variety of factors, including whether: GeoVax is able to obtain acceptable results from ongoing or future clinical trials of its investigational products, GeoVax’s immuno-oncology products and preventative vaccines can provoke the desired responses, and those products or vaccines can be used effectively, GeoVax’s viral vector technology adequately amplifies immune responses to cancer antigens, GeoVax can develop and manufacture its immuno-oncology products and preventative vaccines with the desired characteristics in a timely manner, GeoVax’s immuno-oncology products and preventative vaccines will be safe for human use, GeoVax’s vaccines will effectively prevent targeted infections in humans, GeoVax’s immuno-oncology products and preventative vaccines will receive regulatory approvals necessary to be licensed and marketed, GeoVax raises required capital to complete development, there is development of competitive products that may be more effective or easier to use than GeoVax’s products, GeoVax will be able to enter into favorable manufacturing and distribution agreements, and other factors, over which GeoVax has no control.

Further information on our risk factors is contained in our periodic reports on Form 10-Q and Form 10-K that we have filed and will file with the SEC. Any forward-looking statement made by us herein speaks only as of the date on which it is made. Factors or events that could cause our actual results to differ may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of them. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required by law.