GeoVax Commences Site Expansion for Phase 2 Trial of Next-Generation COVID-19 Vaccine
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Designed to Protect Immunocompromised Patients Against Severe COVID-19
ATLANTA, GA, Oct. 30, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NewMediaWire -- GeoVax Labs, Inc. (Nasdaq: GOVX), a biotechnology company developing immunotherapies and vaccines against cancers and infectious diseases, today announced that it has commenced the planned site expansion for the Phase 2 clinical trial investigating its next-generation SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, GEO-CM04S1, as a primary vaccine in immunocompromised patients. In addition to study enrollments completed at the City of Hope Medical Center (Duarte, California), the trial will be initiating enrollment of eligible patients at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center (Winston Salem, North Carolina), the University of Massachusetts Medical Center (Worcester, Massachusetts), and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (Seattle, Washington).
The Phase 2 clinical trial (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04977024) is evaluating the safety and immunogenicity of GEO-CM04S1, compared to either the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna mRNA-based vaccine, in patients with hematologic malignancies who have received either an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant, an autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant or chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy. Such patients often have difficulty mounting an adequate protective antibody response after receiving currently available COVID-19 vaccines.
David Dodd, GeoVax Chairman and CEO, commented, “We are pleased with these site activations to expand the scope and reach of this trial, which we expect will accelerate patient enrollment for this important study in one of the highest at-risk patient populations, currently underserved by available vaccines. We believe the unique properties of GEO-CM04S1 potentially offer a more robust, durable degree of protection than the current authorized COVID-19 vaccines, not only as a vaccine for highly vulnerable immunocompromised patients for whom the currently authorized mRNA vaccines may be inadequate, but also potentially for healthy patients as a universal booster vaccine to the mRNA vaccines. In the U.S., there are approximately 15 million individuals who, as a result of their compromised immune systems, often do not adequately respond to the current authorized vaccines. Worldwide, there are an estimated 240+ million such patients. Our hope is that GEO-CM04S1 provides robust, durable immune protection for such patients, while also providing a critically important alternative to COVID-19 booster vaccines for healthy individuals.”
A recent publication in Vaccines (https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines11091492) from the open-label portion of the trial indicates that GEO-CM04S1 is highly immunogenic in these patients, inducing both antibody responses, including neutralizing antibodies, and T cell responses against ancestral as well as recently evolved SARS-CoV-2 virus strains. These data support the progression of the Phase 2 clinical study, which includes a direct comparison to currently approved mRNA vaccines.
About GEO-CM04S1
GEO-CM04S1 is based on GeoVax’s MVA viral vector platform, which supports the presentation of multiple vaccine antigens to the immune system in a single dose. GEO-CM04S1 encodes for both the spike (S) and nucleocapsid (N) antigens of SARS-CoV-2 and is specifically designed to induce both antibody and T cell responses to those parts of the virus less likely to mutate over time. The more broadly functional engagement of the immune system is designed to protect against severe disease caused by continually emerging variants of COVID-19. Vaccines of this format should not require frequent and repeated modification or updating.
In addition to this ongoing study, GEO-CM04S1 is being evaluated in two other Phase 2 clinical trials:
- As a booster vaccine for healthy patients who have previously received the Pfizer or Moderna mRNA vaccine. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04639466. GeoVax recently announced that this trial has fully enrolled.
- As a booster vaccine in immunocompromised patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), a recognized high-risk group for whom current mRNA vaccines and monoclonal antibody (MAb) therapies appear inadequate relative to providing protective immunity. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05672355.
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.
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