ATLANTA, Nov. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- GeoVax Labs, Inc. (“GeoVax” or “the Company”), a biopharmaceutical firm developing human vaccines for diseases caused by HIV-1 (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) and other infectious agents, today announced its third quarter 2008 financial results and provided an operational update.
Robert McNally, GeoVax’s President and CEO, commented, “We are very pleased with the progress we’ve made during the third quarter of 2008 and for the year so far, as we’ve taken steps to address both short-term and long-term goals. We made a shipment of the vaccine to the HIV Vaccine Trials Network during October, which is a significant step in preparation for the largest clinical trial yet to be undertaken by GeoVax and we look forward to HVTN’s initiation of the Phase 2a trial later this year. We are also nearing completion of a license with Vivalis S.A., a French biopharmaceutical company, for manufacturing platform technology for the MVA portion of our vaccine that we anticipate will significantly improve the long-term production capabilities for the vaccine.”
Financial Results for the Three Months and Nine Months Ended September 30, 2008
The Company recorded a net loss of $722,108 for the three months ended September 30, 2008, compared to $1,165,519 for the same period in 2007. For the nine months ended September 30, 2008, the Company’s net loss was $2,688,970 as compared to $3,085,926 in 2007. Net losses for 2008 were partially offset by grant revenues of $1,322,502 and $2,298,571 for the three month and nine month periods, respectively, related to the Company’s grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in support of its HIV/AIDS vaccine development activities. As of September 30, 2008, the Company reported cash balances totaling $2,784,706.
Summarized financial information is attached. Further information concerning the Company’s financial position and results of operations are included in its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Dr. Harriet Robinson, the developer of the vaccine and GeoVax’s Vice President of Research and Development, also presented these same results at the Viral Vector Vaccines 2008 meeting, at the Wellcome Trust Conference Center near Cambridge, UK, on September 28, 2008.
“On the financing front,” Dr. McNally noted, “we are pleased with the financing strategy provided by the $10 million common stock purchase agreement with Fusion Capital Fund II, LLC, from which we are drawing in a judicious manner, and we are also benefiting greatly from government support in two ways -- from both the 5 year $15 million grant (approximately $3 million awarded annually) initially awarded in October 2007 by the National Institutes of Health, and also from ongoing clinical trial support provided by the HVTN.”
Dr. McNally concluded, “We believe we are well-positioned for success in 2009 and beyond, with our preventative vaccine beginning Phase 2 human testing and our therapeutic vaccine trial in the planning stage. Based on highly promising results in preclinical non-human primate studies conducted by Dr. Rama Amara at Emory University, we are eager to launch a therapeutic Phase 1/2 human clinical trial in individuals already infected with HIV to investigate the use of our vaccine as a therapeutic treatment to control HIV-virus levels. We expect this trial may start in mid-2009 and we will report on the development of this program as we conclude plans with our trial sponsor.”
About GeoVax Labs, Inc.
GeoVax Labs, Inc. is a biotechnology company, established to develop, manufacture, license and commercialize human vaccines for diseases caused by HIV-1 (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) and other infectious agents. GeoVax’s HIV/AIDS vaccine technology is the subject of 20 issued or filed patent applications. GeoVax HIV/AIDS vaccines are designed for use in uninfected people to prevent Acquired Immunodeficiency Disease (AIDS), caused by the virus known as HIV-1, should the person ever become infected. GeoVax HIV/AIDS vaccines also may be effective as therapeutics (treatment of people already infected with AIDS virus). Studies evaluating these vaccines in HIV/AIDS infected individuals are in the planning stage.
GeoVax’s core HIV/AIDS vaccine technologies were developed through a collaboration of colleagues at Emory University’s Vaccine Center, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the GeoVax team.
GeoVax HIV/AIDS vaccines have moved forward in human clinical trials conducted by the HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN) based in Seattle, Washington. The HVTN, funded through a cooperative agreement with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is the largest worldwide clinical trials program dedicated to the development and testing of HIV/AIDS vaccines. Preclinical work enabling evaluation of GeoVax DNA and MVA vaccines was funded and supported by NIAID, which provided additional support to GeoVax AIDS vaccine development program with a $15 million IPCAVD grant awarded in late 2007. http://www.geovax.com
Safe Harbor Statement: All statements in this news release, not statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on expectations and assumptions as of the date of this press release and are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, whether; GeoVax can develop and manufacture these vaccines with the desired characteristics in a timely manner, GeoVax’s vaccines will be determined to be safe for use in humans, GeoVax’s vaccines will be effective in preventing AIDS in humans, the vaccines will receive the regulatory approvals necessary to be licensed and marketed, GeoVax can raise the required capital to complete development of its vaccines, there is development of competitive products that may be more effective or easier to use than GeoVax’s products, 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. Certain matters discussed in this news release are forward looking statements involving certain risks and uncertainties including, without limitations, risks detailed in the Companies Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports
CONTACT: Melanie Nimrodi, +1-312-546-3508, mnimrodi@frbir.com, for GeoVax
Labs, Inc.; or Robert McNally or Jennifer Nelms, both of GeoVax Labs, Inc.,
+1-404-727-0971
Web site: http://www.geovax.com/
