GeoVax Presents COVID-19 Vaccine Data

 GeoVax Vaccine Being Developed as a Universal Vaccine to Address Evolving SARS-CoV-2 Variants

GeoVax Labs, Inc. (Nasdaq: GOVX), a biotechnology company specializing in developing human vaccines and cancer immunotherapies, today presented data from ongoing studies of its preventive vaccine against COVID-19. The presentation titled, “Design of a Universal SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine Against Evolving Variants,” was delivered virtually by Mark J. Newman, Ph.D., GeoVax’s Chief Scientific Officer, during the European Society of Medicine (ESMED) General Assembly, being held August 19-21 in Berlin, Germany.

First-generation SARS-CoV-2 vaccines were rapidly developed and have proven highly efficacious in the human population and were designed to encode the prefusion stabilized Spike protein (S) with the goal of inducing high levels of neutralizing antibodies. However, potential limitations of narrowly focusing on S are becoming apparent with emerging variants that partially escape neutralization by vaccine induced antibodies. Thus, the effectiveness of these vaccines against new SARS-CoV-2 variants and future coronavirus spillover events remains in question.

Using its novel Modified Virus Ankara - Virus Like Particle (GV-MVA-VLP™) platform, GeoVax has developed a design strategy for vaccines expected to induce broader immunity through inclusion of multiple structural and nonstructural proteins from the target pathogen. The GV-MVA-VLP™ platform is known to elicit a balanced humoral (antibody) and cellular response against a range of immunogens, possibly making immune escape against emerging variants less likely. Expression of the SARS-CoV-2 spike, membrane and envelope proteins by MVA supports the in vivo formation of virus like particles, or VLPs, which induce both antibody and T-cell responses. Incorporation of sequence-conserved nonstructural proteins can provide targets for T-cell responses to increase the breadth and function of vaccine-induced immune responses. This strategy provides the basis for generating a universal vaccine with augmented potential to alleviate the burden of disease caused by circulating coronaviruses.

Dr. Newman’s presentation is available on GeoVax’s website at www.geovax.com/investors/events.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/geovax-presents-covid-19-vaccine-200000048.html