GeoVax Next-Generation COVID-19 Vaccine Data to be Presented at Two Upcoming Scientific Meetings

Presentations to Include New and Unpublished Data from Phase 2 Open-Label Safety Study of GEO-CM04S1

ATLANTA, GA, May 15, 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 will be represented during two upcoming scientific meetings, including Vaccines Summit Boston 2023 in Boston, MA, May 22-24, 2023 and CYTO 2023 in Montréal, Québec, Canada, May 20-24, 2023.

Vaccines Summit Presentation: Monday, May 22, 2023, 3:00 pm -3:30 pm ET, Session Talks – II

On Monday, May 22, Don Diamond, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Hematology & Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation, City of Hope, will deliver a presentation titled, “Assessment of GEO-CM04S1 for Prevention of COVID-19 in Immunocompromised Cell Therapy Patients; An Open-Label Safety Study.”

Dr. Diamond’s presentation will include a description of the development and clinical testing of GeoVax’s vaccine candidate, GEO-CM04S1. CM04S1 is a next-generation COVID-19 vaccine based on the use of the MVA viral vector platform, which presents multiple antigens to the immune system to induce both antibody and T cell responses. The vaccine is designed to provide durable protection against new and continually emerging variants of COVID-19, limiting the need for frequent modification and updating.

GeoVax is focusing on the clinical development of this vaccine for use in patients with impaired ability to mount adequate protective immune responses to currently available COVID-19 vaccines, to include those with certain malignancies and autoimmune disorders, cell and organ transplant patients, individuals with end-stage kidney disease receiving hemodialysis, and potentially elderly individuals who respond poorly to other vaccines.  These individuals may not be able to raise or maintain protective antibody responses following receipt of first-generation mRNA vaccines, contributing to reduced vaccine efficacy.

Dr. Diamond’s presentation will include new and unpublished data from the open-label portion of the Phase 2 trial in patients undergoing hematological cancer treatment.

CYTO Poster Presentation: Tuesday, May 23, 2023, 5:30 pm – 6:00 pm ET, Exhibit Hall 210

On Tuesday, May 23, Sandra Ortega-Francisco, Ph.D., Department of Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation and Hematologic Malignancies Research Institute, City of Hope, will participate in a poster presentation titled, “Induction of multi-antigen specific T cell responses by a synthetic MVA-SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in patients with hematological malignancies.”

Similar to the Vaccines Summit presentation by Dr. Diamond, Dr. Ortega-Francisco’s poster presentation will also address preliminary data from the ongoing Phase 2 study of CM04S1 in patients with hematologic malignancies who are at a heightened risk of severe COVID-19.

About GEO-CM04S1

CM04S1 is a next-generation COVID-19 vaccine based on GeoVax’s MVA viral vector platform, which supports the presentation of multiple vaccine antigens to the immune system in a single dose. CM04S1 presents both the spike and nucleocapsid antigens of SARS-CoV-2 and is specifically designed to induce both antibody and T cell responses to non-variable parts of the virus. The more broadly specific and functional engagement of the immune system is designed to provide protection against the new and continually emerging variants of COVID-19. Based on data from animal models and a completed Phase 1 clinical study, vaccine-induced immune responses were shown to recognize both early and later variants of SARS-CoV-2, including the Omicron variant. Vaccines of this format should not require repeated modification and updating.

CM04S1 continues to advance in two Phase 2 clinical studies, one as a primary vaccine for immunocompromised cancer patients, in direct comparison to either the Pfizer or Moderna mRNA vaccine (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04977024), and the second as a booster for healthy patients who have previously received either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine as their initial inoculation (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04639466).  

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 two Phase 2 clinical trials, GEO-CM04S1 is being evaluated as a COVID-19 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. 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. 

Investor Relations Contact:
Rich Cockrell
CG Capital
404-736-3838
govx@cg.capital