GeoVax’s Next-Generation COVID-19 Vaccine Shows High Immunogenicity in Immunocompromised Patients
Atlanta, GA, May 24, 2023 – GeoVax Labs, Inc. (Nasdaq: GOVX), a biotechnology company developing immunotherapies and vaccines against cancers and infectious diseases, announced today the presentation of updates on the development of its next-generation SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, GEO-CM04S1, including preliminary data from an ongoing Phase 2 clinical trial, during the Vaccines Summit Boston 2023 and the Congress for the International Society for the Advancement of Cytometry (CYTO) 2023 meetings.
Each of the presentations included unpublished data from the open-label portion of the Phase 2 trial of CM04S1 (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04977024 ) in patients undergoing hematological cancer treatment (i.e., patients who have reduced immune system function as a result of treatment ). The preliminary analysis indicated CM04S1 is highly immunogenic in these patients, inducing both antibody responses, including neutralizing antibodies as well as T cell responses. These data support the planned progression of the Phase 2 clinical study, which includes a direct comparison to currently approved mRNA vaccines.
Kelly McKee, M.D., GeoVax’s Chief Medical Officer, commented, “These data extend to severely immunocompromised patients our earlier findings in healthy adults that GEO-CM04S1 stimulated a robust, durable, and broad-based humoral and cellular immune response against multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants. Validation of these findings in additional patients with hematologic malignancies, who have received CAR-T and stem cell transplants, is underway as we seek to provide a vaccine solution to those individuals unable to mount adequate protective responses with currently available COVID-19 vaccines.”
CM04S1 continues to advance in a second Phase 2 clinical trial as a booster for healthy patients who have previously received the Pfizer or Moderna mRNA vaccine (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04639466 ). Data from these studies will form the basis for comparing vaccine potential in unique patient groups as well as the general population.
About GEO-CM04S1
CM04S1 is a next-generation COVID-19 vaccine based on GeoVax’s MVA viral vector platform, which supports the presentation of multiple vaccine antigens to the immune system in a single dose. CM04S1 presents both the spike and nucleocapsid antigens of SARS-CoV-2 and is specifically designed to induce both antibody and T cell responses to non-variable parts of the virus. The more broadly specific and functional engagement of the immune system is designed to provide protection against the new and continually emerging variants of COVID-19. Based on data from animal models and a completed Phase 1 clinical study, vaccine-induced immune responses were shown to recognize both early and later variants of SARS-CoV-2, including the Omicron variant. Vaccines of this format should not require repeated modification and updating.
CM04S1 continues to advance in two Phase 2 clinical studies, one as a primary vaccine for immunocompromised cancer patients, in direct comparison to either the Pfizer or Moderna mRNA vaccine (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04977024 ), and the second as a booster for healthy patients who have previously received either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine as their initial inoculation (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04639466 ).
About GeoVax
GeoVax Labs, Inc. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel therapies and vaccines for solid tumor cancers and many of the world’s most threatening infectious diseases. The company’s lead program in oncology is a novel oncolytic solid tumor gene-directed therapy, Gedeptin ® , presently in a multicenter Phase 1/2 clinical trial for advanced head and neck cancers. GeoVax’s lead infectious disease candidate is GEO-CM04S1, a next-generation COVID-19 vaccine targeting high-risk immunocompromised patient populations. Currently in two Phase 2 clinical trials, GEO-CM04S1 is being evaluated as a COVID-19 vaccine for immunocompromised patients such as those suffering from hematologic cancers and other patient populations for whom the current authorized COVID-19 vaccines are insufficient. In addition, GEO-CM04S1 is in a Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating the vaccine as a more robust, durable COVID-19 booster among healthy patients who previously received the mRNA vaccines. GeoVax has a leadership team who have driven significant value creation across multiple life science companies over the past several decades. For more information, visit our website: www.geovax.com.
