GeoVax publishes on ebolavirus vaccine candidate

 GeoVax Labs, Inc. (Nasdaq: GOVX), a biotechnology company developing human vaccines and immunotherapies against infectious diseases and cancer, announced today the publication of a peer-reviewed animal efficacy study of its modified vaccine Ankara (MVA) vectored vaccine against Sudan ebolavirus (SUDV). The study was published in Nature Partner Journals (NPJ) Vaccines.

GeoVax’s vaccine, MVA-VLP-SUDV, combines the advantages of the immunogenicity of a live attenuated vaccine vector with the authentic conformation of virus-like particles (VLPs). The vaccine expresses minimal components to generate self-assembling VLPs in the vaccinee: the envelope glycoprotein GP and the matrix protein VP40. Guinea pigs vaccinated with one dose of MVA-VLP-SUDV generated SUDV-specific binding and neutralizing antibody responses as well as Fc-mediated protective effects. These responses were boosted by a second vaccine dose. All vaccinated animals which received either one or two vaccine doses were protected from death and disease symptoms following challenge with a lethal dose of SUDV. These data demonstrate single dose protection and potency of the MVA-VLP platform for use in emergency situations to contain outbreaks.

Mark J. Newman, PhD, GeoVax Chief Scientific Officer, commented, “The GeoVax MVA-VLP platform allows for the design of vaccines to present the immune system with multiple viral proteins in the conformation that mimics the actual virus. The resulting immune responses are broadly functional, involving both the antibody and T-cell effector function, resulting in optimal levels of efficacy, even with a single dose. These are ideal properties for vaccines that will support use in the general population. The next stage of testing involving nonhuman primates is nearing completion and we eagerly await those data.”

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