GeoVax Labs Presents Preliminary Data For Cancer Vaccine
ATLANTA, GA--(Marketwired - August 30, 2017) - GeoVax Labs, Inc. (OTCQB: GOVX), a biotechnology company developing human vaccines, announced that its Chief Scientific Officer, Farshad Guirakhoo, PhD, will be presenting preliminary results from studies of GeoVax's MUC1 cancer vaccine in collaboration with ViaMune, Inc. today at the Advances in Vaccine Technologies session at the Immuno-Oncology Summit in Boston, MA.
GeoVax and ViaMune are each developing products that target an abnormal form of the autologous cell surface-associated protein, Mucin 1 (MUC1), which is overexpressed in metastatic cancers (e.g. breast, pancreatic, lung, and ovarian cancers) and circulating tumor cells and which is often used as a diagnostic marker for cancer progression. Due to overexpression and/or aberrant glycosylation of MUC1, this "tumor-associated antigen" (TAA) is often recognized as abnormal by a patient's immune system but is not sufficiently immunogenic to trigger an effective immune response shown to be associated with significant increase in overall survival of patients. Therefore, this or any TAA must be presented to the body in a different form, or in a different way, to recruit the patient's own immune system to fight the cancer. GeoVax and ViaMune are collaborating with the goal of developing a tumor MUC1 vaccine that can produce a broad spectrum of anti-tumor antibody and T cell responses.
In a human MUC1 colon adenocarcinoma mouse tumor model, groups of hMUC1 transgenic mice with established tumors were treated with MTI (ViaMune's synthetic vaccine), MVA-VLP-MUC1 (GeoVax's viral-vectored vaccine) or a combination of both. All treatment groups received an immune checkpoint inhibitor in the form of an anti-PD-1 antibody. The preliminary results from two studies indicate that a combined vaccine approach can increase the activity of anti-PD-1 therapy. The studies were performed by the laboratory of Dr. Pinku Mukherjee, PhD, at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
Dr. Guirakhoo commented, "We are pleased with the data from this study, which are encouraging and demonstrate a potentially synergistic effect between the GeoVax and ViaMune vaccines. This study gives us the scientific justification to pursue additional investigation of our approach, and we intend to seek funding to vigorously pursue development of the combined MVA-MTI technologies for the treatment of multiple cancer indications."
About GeoVax
GeoVax Labs, Inc., is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing human vaccines against infectious diseases using its Modified Vaccinia Ankara-Virus Like Particles (MVA-VLP) vaccine platform. 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 vivo production 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.
About ViaMune
ViaMune, Inc. is a pre-clinical stage company with an enabling technology platform that is focused on harnessing the power of the immune system to eliminate advanced cancers. ViaMune is developing a new class of fully synthetic, precisely engineered cancer immunotherapies that induce a robust and highly tumor-specific immune response. The platform is based on a recently recognized and novel biochemical pathway resulting in the highly tumor-specific aberrant glycosylation of proteins. These products are designed to synergize with agents that overcome immunosuppression (immunologic checkpoint inhibitors, CPIs) in order to achieve improved clinical outcomes in patients with advanced cancers. For more information, email us at info@viamune.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.