GeoVax Labs Receives Notice of Allowance for Patent Application Covering Marburg Virus Vaccine

GeoVax Labs, a leading biotechnology company specializing in immunotherapies and vaccines, has announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a Notice of Allowance for its patent application related to a vaccine for the Marburg virus. The patent covers GeoVax’s vector platform, which utilizes a replication-deficient modified vaccinia Ankara (MVA) viral vector to express Marburg virus antigens in virus-like particles (VLPs).

The company’s vaccine candidate, GEO-MM01, has shown promising results in nonhuman primate studies, with 80% survival observed in cynomolgus macaques following a lethal dose of the Marburg virus. The vaccination not only protected the animals from viremia, weight loss, and death but also elicited a strong immune response, including the presence of neutralizing antibodies and functional T cells.

GeoVax is now evaluating different dose levels and routes of vaccine delivery to optimize the vaccine’s utility and efficacy. While the company’s primary focus remains on developing next-generation COVID-19 vaccines and cancer immunotherapies, the development of vaccines against lethal hemorrhagic fever viruses, such as Marburg, reflects their commitment to addressing global health threats.

David Dodd, President and CEO of GeoVax, emphasized the importance of developing vaccines for highly fatal endemic diseases. He highlighted the medical and biodefense need for a Marburg virus vaccine, as demonstrated by its inclusion in the FDA Priority Review Voucher program. With this patent allowance, GeoVax’s intellectual property portfolio now includes over 115 granted or pending patent applications across various areas.

Marburg virus, a member of the Filoviridae family, is a severe hemorrhagic fever virus with a fatality rate of up to 90%. It is transmitted to humans from fruit bats and can also spread through direct contact with bodily fluids or contaminated surfaces. Currently, there are no licensed vaccines or therapeutics available for Marburg virus infections.

GeoVax’s GV-MVA-VLP platform utilizes a modified vaccinia Ankara (MVA) viral vector to produce virus-like particles (VLPs) that mimic natural infection, stimulating both the humoral and cellular arms of the immune system. This approach aims to elicit durable immune responses while maintaining the safety characteristics of a replication-defective vector.

GeoVax Labs, Inc. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing novel therapies and vaccines for solid tumor cancers and infectious diseases. Their lead programs include Gedeptin®, a gene-directed therapy for advanced head and neck cancers, and GEO-CM04S1, a next-generation COVID-19 vaccine targeting high-risk immunocompromised patient populations.

With this latest patent allowance, GeoVax continues to make significant strides in its mission to combat deadly diseases and improve global health outcomes.