GOVXW - Progress on GeoVax's Universal Coronavirus Vaccine Candidate GEO-CM02 Presented at Vaccines Summit 2023 | Benzinga
Single-Dose Protection Demonstrated Against Multiple SARS-CoV-2 Variants
ATLANTA, GA, Nov. 14, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NewMediaWire – GeoVax Labs, Inc. (NASDAQ:GOVX), a biotechnology company developing immunotherapies and vaccines against cancers and infectious diseases, today announced the presentation of preclinical vaccine efficacy data for GEO-CM02, a multi-antigen investigational SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. The data were presented during the Vaccines Summit 2023 conference, being held in Boston, MA on November 13-15, 2023. The presentation, titled "MVA-vectored multi-antigen COVID-19 vaccines induce protective immunity against SARS-CoV-2 variants spanning Alpha to Omicron in preclinical animal models," was delivered by Mukesh Kumar, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Biology, Georgia State University.
"We are thrilled to continue to demonstrate the robust efficacy profile of GEO-CM02 with the presentation of preclinical data at this year's Vaccine Summit," said David Dodd, GeoVax's Chairman and CEO. "Together, these data indicate that immunization with the multi-antigen GEO-CM02 vaccine can protect against severe disease and death induced by SARS-CoV-2 infection and regardless of the variant. Along with a demonstrated safety profile, we believe GEO-CM02 has potential as a transformative universal coronavirus vaccine."
First-generation SARS-CoV-2 vaccines based on the spike (S) protein have demonstrated that they induce neutralizing antibodies, providing effective, albeit short-term levels of immune protection. Unfortunately, with the existing authorized vaccines, efficacy is disrupted by emerging variants that contribute to neutralizing antibody evasion, requiring continuous updating and booster doses. To address this limitation, GeoVax is currently evaluating its dual antigen COVID-19 vaccine, GEO-CM04S1 in three Phase 2 clinical trials. GEO-CM04S1 encodes for both the spike (S) and nucleocapsid (N) antigens of SARS-CoV-2 and is specifically designed to induce both antibody and T cell responses to those parts of the virus less likely to mutate over time. The more broadly functional engagement of the immune system is designed to protect against severe disease caused by continually emerging variants of COVID-19. Vaccines of this format should not require frequent and repeated modification or updating. Moreover, GEO-CM04S1 is being developed specifically as a COVID-19 vaccine in support of patients with compromised immune systems, for whom the current authorized vaccines appear inadequate in providing protective immunity.
GEO-CM02 is a multi-antigen SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, based on the S, membrane (M), and envelope (E) proteins, which are designed to also engage both the humoral (antibody) and cellular (T-cell) arms of the immune system and to broaden both the ...