Healthcare Industry News: virus-like particle
News Release - November 22, 2013
GeoVax Appoints Dr. Arban Domi as Director, Vector Development
Expansion of Scientific Staff to Support HIV Vaccine DevelopmentATLANTA, GA--(Healthcare Sales & Marketing Network) - GeoVax Labs, Inc. (OTCQB: GOVX), a biotechnology company developing vaccines to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS, today announced the appointment of Arban Domi, Ph.D., as its Director, Vector Development.
Dr. Domi will not only be a key player in the continued development of GeoVax's HIV vaccines currently being evaluated in human clinical trials, but also in the development of versions of the Company's vaccines for the subtypes of HIV affecting the developing world. Dr. Domi's experience will also be instrumental in the Company's evaluation of the suitability of vaccine constructs for commercial-scale vaccine manufacturing processes.
Dr. Domi received his Ph.D. from the University of Paris, followed by post doctoral training at the Jacques Monod Institute of Molecular Biology in Paris. Both his thesis and post doctoral studies addressed the replication of vaccinia virus and the construction of cell lines for use in vaccine production. From August 2000 to August 2008 he was a Research Fellow in the Laboratory of GeoVax collaborator, Dr. Bernard Moss, at the U.S. National Institutes of Health, where he continued his work on poxviruses, viral vectors and recombinant virus construction as well as in the replication and egress of vaccinia virus. Dr. Domi was the co-inventor of the first infectious clone of a poxvirus cloned in bacteria and he developed a new expression system, VAC-BAC shuttle vector system for construction of recombinant poxviruses in E. Coli. In 2008 he joined the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) laboratory in Brooklyn, New York, as a Principal Scientist and since 2011 he has been the head of Process Development and Virus Production at IAVI.
"We are very pleased that Dr. Domi will be joining us," said Harriet Robinson, GeoVax's Chief Scientific Officer. "Arban's expertise in working with vaccinia virus and constructing recombinant viruses, as well as his experience as a Principal Scientist at the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, will greatly add to our scientific talent at GeoVax. We are fortunate that our vaccine program could attract a professional of Dr. Domi's caliber, and we look forward to his contributions."
About GeoVax's Technology
GeoVax's unique, two component vaccine, a recombinant DNA and a recombinant modified vaccinia Ankara (MVA), is designed to stimulate both anti-HIV T cell and anti-HIV antibody immune responses. GeoVax's DNA and MVA vaccines are used in a prime/boost protocol in which priming is done with the DNA and boosting with the MVA. Both the DNA and MVA express the three major proteins of the AIDS virus: Gag, Pol, and Env, and produce non-infectious virus-like-particles. GeoVax's vaccines are unique in expressing virus-like particles that display the trimeric membrane-bound form of the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein. GeoVax's vaccines are currently being tested in human clinical trials, for both preventive and therapeutic applications. Clinical trials for GeoVax's preventive HIV vaccines have been conducted by the US National Institutes of Health-supported HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN) with funding from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID). Overall, GeoVax's vaccines, in various doses and combinations, have been tested in close to 500 humans.
About HIV/AIDS
AIDS can affect anyone, regardless of race, gender, age or sexual orientation. 33 million people are currently infected globally and it is estimated that there will be 2.5 million new infections this year. Since the beginning of the epidemic, over a million people in the U.S. have contracted the virus. Every 9 1/2 minutes, someone in the U.S. is infected with AIDS. Globally, HIV is the top killer among women of reproductive age. HIV is a worldwide disease with different subtypes (or clades) of the virus predominating in different regions of the world. Clade B is the predominant subtype in North America. Globally, most infections involve Clades AG, B, and C. GeoVax most advanced vaccines under development are designed to function against Clade B. For more information, please visit www.geovax.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this document are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. These statements are based on management's current expectations and are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. Actual results may differ materially from those included in these statements due to a variety of factors, including whether: HVTN will commence, complete enrollment, and generate data regarding GeoVax vaccine clinical trials as and when expected, GeoVax can develop and manufacture its vaccines with the desired characteristics in a timely manner, GeoVax's vaccines will be safe for human use, GeoVax's vaccines will effectively prevent AIDS in humans, vaccines will receive regulatory approvals necessary to be licensed and marketed, GeoVax raises required capital to complete vaccine development, there is development of competitive products that may be more effective, less costly, or easier to use than GeoVax's products, GeoVax will be able to enter into favorable manufacturing and distribution agreements, 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. More information about these factors is contained in GeoVax's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including those set forth at "Risk Factors" in GeoVax's Form 10-K.
Source: GeoVax Labs
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