GeoVax Receives Notice of Allowance for Malaria Vaccine Patent

Rhea-AI Summary

GeoVax Labs has received a Notice of Allowance for its patent application aimed at developing a vaccine for malaria, utilizing modified vaccinia Ankara (MVA) vectors. This innovative platform targets multiple stages of the malaria parasite, addressing a significant public health crisis with 228 million infections and 405,000 deaths annually. GeoVax's focus remains on its COVID-19 vaccine in Phase 2 trials, alongside cancer therapies. The company emphasizes its dedication to advancing vaccine innovations to enhance public health globally.

Positive

• Received Notice of Allowance for patent on malaria vaccine, suggesting potential for innovative treatment.
• Targets multiple malaria parasite stages, offering broader protection compared to existing vaccines.

Negative

• Current focus on COVID-19 vaccine and cancer therapies may distract from malaria vaccine development.

The GeoVax Multi-antigenic MVA-VLP Approach Designed to Provide a Stronger, Broader Protection

Atlanta, GA, Dec. 14, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NewMediaWire -- GeoVax Labs, Inc. (Nasdaq: GOVX), a biotechnology company developing human immunotherapies and vaccines against cancer and infectious diseases, today announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued a Notice of Allowance for Patent Application No. 16/648,693 titled “Compositions and Methods for Generating an Immune Response to Treat or Prevent Malaria.” In general, the claims to be granted in the patent cover GeoVax’s modified vaccinia Ankara (MVA) vector expressing certain antigens from the malaria parasite.

Globally, malaria causes 228 million infections and 405,000 deaths annually. Despite decades of vaccine research, vaccine candidates have failed to induce substantial protection (e.g. >50%). Most of these vaccines are based on individual proteins that induce immune responses targeting only one stage of the malaria parasite’s life cycle. GeoVax’s MVA-VLP malaria vaccine candidates incorporate antigens derived from multiple stages of the parasite’s life cycle and are designed to induce an immune response with durable functional antibodies and CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses, all hallmarks of an ideal vaccine-induced immune response.

David Dodd, GeoVax President and CEO, commented, “Our corporate focus and development priorities continue to be our COVID-19 vaccine, currently in Phase 2 clinical trials, and our cancer immunotherapy program, with Gedeptin® as our lead product in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial for Head and Neck cancer. However, developing vaccines against global public health threats, such as malaria, is also part of our longer-term focus. We remain strongly committed to advancing innovation towards improving public health worldwide and this patent reflects a potential game-changing advance relative to malaria prevention.”

Mark Newman, PhD, GeoVax Chief Scientific Officer, commented, “We welcome the recognition of the inventiveness associated with our MVA-VLP vaccine platform. Collaborations with government institutions, such as the National Institutes of Health and USAID, and academic, such as the Burnet Institute, will continue to be components of our efforts to design, produce and test novel vaccines against malaria.”

About the GV-MVA-VLP^TM Platform

GeoVax’s GV-MVA-VLP^TM vaccine platform utilizes modified vaccinia Ankara (MVA), a large virus capable of carrying several vaccine antigens, that expresses proteins that assemble into virus-like particles (VLP) immunogens in the person receiving the vaccine. The production of VLPs in the person being vaccinated can mimic the virus production that occurs in a natural infection, stimulating both the humoral and cellular arms of the immune system to recognize, prevent, and control the target infection. The 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.

About GeoVax

GeoVax Labs, Inc. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing human vaccines and immunotherapies against infectious diseases and cancer using novel proprietary platforms. The Company’s portfolio of wholly owned, co-owned, and in-licensed intellectual property, stands at over 70 granted or pending patent applications spread over 20 patent families.

GeoVax’s product pipeline includes ongoing human clinical trials in COVID-19, head and neck cancer, and HIV. Additional research and development programs include preventive vaccines against Zika Virus, hemorrhagic fever viruses (Ebola, Sudan, Marburg, and Lassa) and malaria, as well as immunotherapies for multiple solid tumors.

For additional information about GeoVax, visit our website: www.geovax.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release and the related conference call contain forward-looking statements regarding GeoVax’s business plans and financial results. The words “believe,” “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 realize potential benefits from the patent protection it has received, GeoVax’s vaccines can provoke the desired immune responses, and those vaccines can be used effectively as a primary or booster to other vaccines, GeoVax’s viral vector technology adequately amplifies immune responses to cancer antigens, GeoVax can develop and manufacture its vaccines with the desired characteristics in a timely manner, GeoVax’s vaccines will be safe for human use, GeoVax’s vaccines will effectively prevent targeted infections in humans, GeoVax’s vaccines will receive regulatory approvals necessary to be licensed and marketed, GeoVax raises required capital to complete vaccine 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 registration statement on Form S-1 and the 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. 

Contact:

GeoVax Labs, Inc.

investor@geovax.com

678-384-7220

FAQ

What recent patent has GeoVax Labs received for malaria vaccines?

GeoVax Labs received a Notice of Allowance for a patent related to its MVA-VLP malaria vaccine candidates.

How does the GeoVax malaria vaccine differ from existing vaccines?

GeoVax's vaccine targets multiple stages of the malaria parasite, whereas current vaccines typically focus on single stages.

What is the current status of GeoVax's COVID-19 vaccine?

GeoVax's COVID-19 vaccine is currently in Phase 2 clinical trials.

What are the public health statistics related to malaria?

Malaria causes approximately 228 million infections and 405,000 deaths globally each year.

What is the stock symbol for GeoVax Labs?

The stock symbols for GeoVax Labs are GOVX and GOVXW.