ATLANTA, GA, July 09, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GeoVax Labs, Inc. (OTCQB: GOVX), winner of the 2018 “Best Biotech” at the Vaccine Industry Excellence (ViE) Awards during the World Vaccine Congress, announced today that its Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Farshad Guirakhoo, will delivera talk during the American Society for Virology (ASV) 2018 Annual Meeting, being held July 14-18, 2018 at the University of Maryland in College Park, MD. Dr. Guirakhoo’s presentation is entitled “Development of a Safe and Effective Zika Vaccine Based on the NS1 Protein”and will be delivered during a workshop session at the conference.
Zika virus(ZIKV)is a mosquito-borne flavivirus that has rapidly extended its geographic range around the world and is associated with abnormal fetal brain development. In February 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) included ZIKV in its “List of Blueprint Priority Diseases”, calling forurgent need for their accelerated research and development. All of the pathogens on the list have the potential for causing public health emergencies, for which there are no efficacious medical countermeasures or preventive vaccines.
Designing a safe and effective vaccine for ZIKV requires significant caution due to overlapping geographical distribution of ZIKV with its closest relative, dengue virus (DENV). Antibody-Dependent Enhancement (ADE) of DENV infection, a phenomenon involved in pathogenesis of DENV, has been shown in animals exposed to ZIKV. All ZIKV vaccines under development that use nucleic acid, purified inactivated virions or live-chimeric attenuated approaches, rely on ZIKV structural proteins prME, as protective antigens which are also involved in induction of ADE.
In his presentation, Dr. Guirakhoo will discuss GeoVax’s development of an alternative vaccine strategy encompassing expression of the ZIKV non-structural NS1protein. The NS1 protein, delivered by a clinically-proven safe Modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA) vector, averts the potential risk of ADE associated with structural protein-based ZIKV vaccines. Dr. Guirakhoo’s presentation willinclude details of a study conducted at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In this study, a single intramuscular dose of the GeoVax MVA-NS1 vaccine provided 100% protection to mice challenged with a lethal dose of ZIKV delivered directly into the brain. GeoVax’s MVA-NS1 vaccine is currently preparing for advanced preclinical testing in non-human primates with funding from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
About GeoVax
GeoVax Labs, Inc., is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing human vaccines against infectious diseases using its MVA-VLP vaccine platform. GeoVax was the winner of the 2018 “Best Biotech” Vaccine Industry Excellence Awards, a finalist for the 2018 “Best Prophylactic Vaccine” Award for its Zika vaccine at the World Vaccine Congress, as well as a finalist for Pipelines of Promise at Buzz of Bio 2018. The Company’s development programs are focused on vaccines against HIV, Zika, hemorrhagic fever viruses (Ebola, Sudan, Marburg, Lassa) and malaria. GeoVax also is evaluating the use of its MVA-VLP platform in cancer immunotherapy, and for therapeutic use in chronic Hepatitis B infections. GeoVax’s vaccine platform supports in vivoproduction of non-infectious VLPs from the cells of the very person receiving the vaccine. The production of VLPs in the person being vaccinated mimics virus production in a natural infection, stimulating both the humoral and cellular arms of the immune system to recognize, prevent, and control the target infection. For more information, visit www.geovax.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this document are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. These statements are based on management's current expectations and are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. Actual results may differ materially from those included in these statements due to a variety of factors, including whether: 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. GeoVax assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements and does not intend to do so. More information about these factors is contained in GeoVax's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including those set forth at "Risk Factors" in GeoVax's Form 10-K.