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GeoVax Announces Clinical Trial Initiation of Novel Combination Therapy Utilizing MVA62B to Induce Remission in HIV-Positive Patients
ATLANTA, GA, Aug. 24, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NEWMEDIAWIRE – GeoVax Labs, Inc. (OTCQB: GOVX), a biotechnology company developing human immunotherapies
About this update from Geovax Labs, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"ATLANTA, GA, Aug. 24, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NEWMEDIAWIRE – GeoVax Labs, Inc. (OTCQB: GOVX), a biotechnology company developing human immunotherapies and vaccines against infectious diseases and cancer, announced today initiation of a Phase 1 clinical study of a combination therapy in HIV-positive patients utilizing GeoVax’s novel boost component MVA62B. The study is a collaboration of researchers led by Dr. Steven Deeks, Professor of Medicine in Residence at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) and a faculty member in the Division of HIV, Infectious Diseases and Global Medicine at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. The study is designed to induce remission in HIV-positive individuals, also known as a “functional cure.” It is being funded by amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research.\n The single-arm, open-label study will enroll 20 HIV-infected adults who are on stable and effective antiretroviral therapy (ART). The investigational regimen entails a combination of vaccinations (DNA priming and MVA boosting), administration of broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) and a Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) agonist. GeoVax is providing its novel boost component, MVA62B, for use in the studies. MVA62B is the boosting component for GeoVax’s preventive HIV vaccine, GOVX-B11, which has successfully completed a Phase 2a clinical trial. “This Phase 1 trial will be the most comprehensive study to date to assess the efficacy of synergistic approaches to control HIV infection,” said Dr. Steven Deeks of UCSF. “The primary objectives are to assess the safety and tolerability of the combination therapy and to determine the viral load ’set-point’ during a treatment interruption. Secondary objectives include assessing immune responses and changes in viral reservoir status. We are pleased to partner in this study with GeoVax for its novel MBA62B boost component and look forward to working with the scientists at GeoVax to advance the trial.” Harriet Robinson, Ph.D., CSO Emeritus of GeoVax, commented, “We have previously demonstrated that our HIV vaccine can stimulate production of both CD8+ and CD4+ T cells in HIV-positive individuals, which is the intended function of the MVA62B vaccine in the UCSF therapeutic study. Our vaccine also has a well-documented safety profile in more than 500 humans. We are hopeful that the combinat...