GeoVax Labs, Inc. Moving Operations to Smyrna, Georgia
ATLANTA, Oct. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- GeoVax Labs, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: GOVX) ("GeoVax" or 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 that it will move its corporate headquarters and laboratory operations from the Briarcliff campus of Emory University to Smyrna, Georgia, a northwest suburb of Atlanta, effective November 3, 2009.
The Company has been housed in the Emtech Bio incubator facility (a partnership between Emory University and Georgia Institute of Technology) since its formation in 2001. The new location at 1900 Lake Park Drive, Suite 380, Smyrna, Georgia 30080, will encompass over 8400 square feet of office and laboratory space. The Company will occupy this new headquarters under a 62-month lease. The facility is situated within an existing biotech building in a controlled-access campus, and will house all of the Company's U.S. research and development, process engineering, quality control, regulatory and administrative operations.
Bob McNally, Ph.D., GeoVax's President and Chief Executive Officer stated, "This move will give GeoVax much-needed additional space for our current activities, as well as providing space to accommodate the addition of several new employees to our research and development staff and the resulting expansion of our operations. The new facility will offer suitable space for our corporate needs while keeping our overall facility expenses in line. We appreciate the years of support from Emory University, Georgia Tech and the Georgia Research Alliance, all entities that were instrumental in contributing space and equipment while the Company was in its initial development phases. Our move is not only physical, but represents the continuing growth of GeoVax's leadership position in HIV vaccine technology."
GeoVax shareholders, media and other interested parties who wish to tour the Company's new facilities may contact the Company directly at 678-384-7220 (after November 3) to schedule an appointment.
HIV/AIDS Background
HIV affects the entire globe and comes in a variety of subtypes. Clade B is the predominant subtype in North America where there are roughly 60,000 new infections each year. Globally, there are about 2.5 million AIDS infections per year, most primarily involving subtypes AG, B, and C. In 2007, UNAIDS reported 1.3 million people living with AIDS in North America and 33.2 million people living with AIDS worldwide. Presently, there is little to prevent HIV transmission other than education, circumcision, and condoms. It is obvious from the spread of the disease that these methods are not adequate. Existing treatments for individuals infected with HIV include anti-retroviral therapies that are effective but have serious medical side effects and are very expensive (upwards of $1,500/month). This cost is borne primarily by the individual and sometimes by third party insurance, local healthcare, federal or world health organizations. Development and distribution of an effective HIV/AIDS vaccine holds great promise. The GeoVax Vaccine would cost a fraction of the cost of current treatments and, to date, has not elicited serious adverse side effects in several human trials. A population vaccinated with an effective HIV-1 vaccine would be expected to significantly decrease the prevalence of AIDS over time.
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 Acquired Immunodeficiency Disease (AIDS), caused by the virus known as HIV-1, should the 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, Senior V.P. of Research and Development, 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 forward in 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 a $17 million IPCAVD grant awarded in late 2007.
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.