01.28.20
GeoVax Labs, Inc., a biotechnology company developing human immunotherapies and vaccines against infectious diseases and cancer, and BravoVax, a vaccine developer in Wuhan, China, have signed a Letter of Intent to jointly develop a vaccine against the coronavirus (known as 2019-nCoV).
GeoVax will use its MVA-VLP vaccine platform to design and construct the vaccine candidate using genetic sequences from the ongoing coronavirus outbreak originating in Wuhan, China. BravoVax will provide further development, including testing and manufacturing support, as well as direct interactions with Chinese public health and regulatory authorities.
GeoVax’s Modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA) platform technology is built on a 5th generation MVA vector system that is improved for high expression and stable transgenes during manufacture. Similar to its parent MVA, it has the advantage of being a live replication-competent vector in avian cells for manufacturing, yet replication-deficient in mammalian cells for vaccination, thus inherently safe. Importantly, MVA vaccines elicit protective T cell as well as antibody responses in animals and humans. The GeoVax MVA platform can be combined with the potent immunogenicity of Virus Like Particles (VLPs) or be used to express proteins in their native conformations, enabling construction of vaccine candidates that induce full protection after a single dose.
David Dodd, GeoVax president and chief executive officer, said, “Serious infectious disease epidemics such as the current coronavirus outbreak require rapid and effective response in order to minimize the detrimental impact on populations at risk. We are extremely pleased to begin working with BravoVax on this important and critical project, focused on minimizing the threat and impact of 2019-nCoV. The GeoVax technology and expertise has previously demonstrated success in addressing various infectious disease threats, based upon our novel MVA-VLP platform and expertise. With BravoVax located at the epicenter of this outbreak and their respective expertise, we feel confident towards advancing our vaccine candidate into clinical development in a timely manner, providing a critical tool in addressing the new coronavirus threat.”
Wu Ke, BravoVax founder and chief executive officer, said, “As an established human vaccine developer, BravoVax is committed to utilizing its resources and network of connections within the Chinese virology, epidemiology, and regulatory communities to address this new threat to public health. Our physical location in Wuhan, essentially ‘Ground Zero’ for the novel coronavirus outbreak, gives us even greater incentive to be a part of an effective solution. We are excited by the opportunity to partner with GeoVax in leveraging their proven MVA-VLP vaccine platform to address this crisis. We look to collaborate closely with them in moving their vaccine candidate through pre-clinical and clinical testing in the most expeditious way possible in our aim to bring a safe and effective vaccine to those at risk for acquiring this infection.”
Coronaviruses are common in many species of animals, including mammals, avians, and bats. In rare occasions, these viruses can evolve to cross the animal species and infect humans. They can quickly spread from person to person, resulting in lethal, yet rare, respiratory infections.
GeoVax will use its MVA-VLP vaccine platform to design and construct the vaccine candidate using genetic sequences from the ongoing coronavirus outbreak originating in Wuhan, China. BravoVax will provide further development, including testing and manufacturing support, as well as direct interactions with Chinese public health and regulatory authorities.
GeoVax’s Modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA) platform technology is built on a 5th generation MVA vector system that is improved for high expression and stable transgenes during manufacture. Similar to its parent MVA, it has the advantage of being a live replication-competent vector in avian cells for manufacturing, yet replication-deficient in mammalian cells for vaccination, thus inherently safe. Importantly, MVA vaccines elicit protective T cell as well as antibody responses in animals and humans. The GeoVax MVA platform can be combined with the potent immunogenicity of Virus Like Particles (VLPs) or be used to express proteins in their native conformations, enabling construction of vaccine candidates that induce full protection after a single dose.
David Dodd, GeoVax president and chief executive officer, said, “Serious infectious disease epidemics such as the current coronavirus outbreak require rapid and effective response in order to minimize the detrimental impact on populations at risk. We are extremely pleased to begin working with BravoVax on this important and critical project, focused on minimizing the threat and impact of 2019-nCoV. The GeoVax technology and expertise has previously demonstrated success in addressing various infectious disease threats, based upon our novel MVA-VLP platform and expertise. With BravoVax located at the epicenter of this outbreak and their respective expertise, we feel confident towards advancing our vaccine candidate into clinical development in a timely manner, providing a critical tool in addressing the new coronavirus threat.”
Wu Ke, BravoVax founder and chief executive officer, said, “As an established human vaccine developer, BravoVax is committed to utilizing its resources and network of connections within the Chinese virology, epidemiology, and regulatory communities to address this new threat to public health. Our physical location in Wuhan, essentially ‘Ground Zero’ for the novel coronavirus outbreak, gives us even greater incentive to be a part of an effective solution. We are excited by the opportunity to partner with GeoVax in leveraging their proven MVA-VLP vaccine platform to address this crisis. We look to collaborate closely with them in moving their vaccine candidate through pre-clinical and clinical testing in the most expeditious way possible in our aim to bring a safe and effective vaccine to those at risk for acquiring this infection.”
Coronaviruses are common in many species of animals, including mammals, avians, and bats. In rare occasions, these viruses can evolve to cross the animal species and infect humans. They can quickly spread from person to person, resulting in lethal, yet rare, respiratory infections.
