EBOLA OUTBREAK MAP . COM

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Olena Shtanko, Ph.D., a Staff Scientist at the Texas Biomedical Research Institute (Texas Biomed), has received more than $1 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to explore different aspects of Ebola virus infection. Understanding how cells become infected is critical to identifying and designing therapies that target viral replication and spread in a host.

Shtanko is also excited to explore a possible alternative mode of spread — tunneling nanotubes, dynamic connections between cells, which allow cells to communicate by exchanging content over relatively long distances (up to 200 microns). While these structures have been shown to play a prominent role in promoting neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, and spread of a variety of viruses, including HIV-1 and influenza, no one is known to have investigated their role in disseminating Ebola and related viruses.

GeoVax has demonstrated that a single intramuscular (IM) dose of its ebola vaccine  provided 100% protection in rhesus macaques monkeys injected with a lethal dose of Ebola virus (EBOV). This is the first report that a replication-deficient MVA vector can confer full protection against a lethal EBOV challenge after a single-dose vaccination in macaques. GEO-EM01 is based on the Company’s novel Modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA) Virus-Like Particle (VLP) platform, which generates noninfectious VLPs in the individual being vaccinated. VLPs mimic a natural infection, triggering the body to produce a robust and durable immune response with both antibodies and T cells.

In addition to its Ebola vaccine GeoVax is also developing preventive vaccines for other hemorrhagic fever viruses highly lethal to humans. In July 2021, the Company announced results of preclinical efficacy studies of its ebola vaccine in which a single dose of the vaccine protected 100% of animals challenged with a lethal dose of SUDV. This is the first report that a replication-deficient MVA vector may confer full protection against SUDV after a single dose. This work was conducted in collaboration with researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB). Separately, GeoVax is leading a multi-party collaboration for the development of its SUDV and Marburg virus (MARV) vaccine candidates. The collaboration, between GeoVax, researchers at UTMB and Battelle Memorial Institute, utilizes the suite of preclinical services from NIAID. Under the collaboration, GeoVax’s SUDV and MARV vaccine candidates are being tested for immunogenicity and efficacy in the benchmark nonhuman primate model. Additionally, GeoVax’s vaccine against Lassa Fever virus (LASV) is progressing in preclinical studies with funding support from the U.S. Department of Defense.