GeoVax Labs, Inc. Announces Appointment of Mark J. Newman, Ph.D. as Vice President, Research and Development
ATLANTA, Jan. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- GeoVax Labs, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: GOVX) (the "Company"), an Atlanta-based, biopharmaceutical company developing human vaccines for diseases caused by HIV-1 (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) and other infectious agents, today announced the appointment of Mark J. Newman, Ph.D. as vice president, research and development. Dr. Newman will be responsible for developing GeoVax's therapeutic HIV vaccine initiative and broadening the GeoVax pipeline.
"We are very pleased that Dr. Newman will be joining us," said Harriet Robinson, chief scientific officer. "We are fortunate that GeoVax's vaccine program could attract a professional of Dr. Newman's caliber. There is an enormous amount of work to be done to successfully launch our first therapeutic trial as well as to effectively move our preventative vaccine programs forward. It is a major milestone for the Company to have Dr. Newman joining our scientific staff in a leadership role. There is absolutely no better way that GeoVax could be starting 2010 than with Dr. Newman joining the Company."
Dr. Bob McNally, chief executive officer added, "Mark will be a key member of our senior staff. His experience in vaccine development and knowledge of the process are crucial to the commercialization of the Company's therapeutic and preventative vaccines. We welcome Dr. Newman and look forward to his contributions."
In a career spanning 30 years, Dr. Newman, 54, was vice president, research and development for PaxVax, Inc., prior to joining GeoVax. At PaxVax, he led research and preclinical development of Adenovirus vectored vaccine candidates. During his professional life he has worked on the development of HIV, influenza and cancer vaccines and led active programs on adjuvant and vaccine delivery technologies. Over the past 20 years he has served in various senior management roles within the biotechnology field with a focus on HIV/AIDS vaccines at:
Pharmexa, Inc.
Epimmune, Inc.
Vaxcel, Inc.
Apollon, Inc. and
Cambridge Biotech Corporation
Dr. Newman holds B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees from Ohio State University. He also holds a Ph.D. in Immunology from the John Curtin School of Medical Research at the Australian National University. In his scientific career he has successfully secured peer-reviewed grants and contracts, is an inventor on seven issued patents, and an author of more than 100 peer-reviewed scientific papers. He has provided extensive service to the field of HIV/AIDS vaccines by serving on extramural panels for the review of US NIH-sponsored HIV/AIDS and vaccine research programs.
About GeoVax Labs, Inc.
GeoVax Labs, Inc. is a biotechnology company, established to develop, manufacture, license and commercialize human vaccines for diseases caused by HIV-1 (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) and other infectious agents. GeoVax's AIDS vaccine technology is the subject of 20 issued or filed patent applications. GeoVax AIDS vaccines are designed for use in uninfected people to prevent acquisition of HIV-1 and limit the progression to AIDS should a person become infected GeoVax AIDS vaccines also may be effective as a therapeutic treatment (for people already infected with the HIV-1 virus).
GeoVax's core AIDS vaccine technologies were developed by Dr. Harriet Robinson, Chief Scientific Officer, through a collaboration of colleagues at Emory University's Vaccine Center, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and GeoVax.
GeoVax's AIDS vaccines have moved into phase 2a human clinical trials conducted by the HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN) based in Seattle, Washington. The HVTN, funded through a cooperative agreement with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is the largest worldwide clinical trials program dedicated to the development and testing of AIDS vaccines. Preclinical work enabling evaluation of GeoVax DNA and MVA vaccines was funded and supported by NIAID, which provided additional support to GeoVax AIDS vaccine development program with an $18 million IPCAVD grant awarded in late 2007. The company has targeted the launch of its first therapeutic HIV/AIDS vaccine trial for early 2010.
Safe Harbor Statement
All statements in this news release, not statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on expectations and assumptions on the date of this press release and are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, whether: GeoVax can develop and manufacture these 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 or easier to use than GeoVax's products, 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. Certain matters discussed in this news release are forward-looking statements involving certain risks and uncertainties including, without limitation, risks detailed in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports.
SOURCE GeoVax Labs, Inc.