GeoVax Advances Mpox/Smallpox Vaccine Toward Global Stockpiles in Strategic Shift

GeoVax Labs, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company, has announced a significant strategic shift for its GEO-MVA vaccine candidate, initiating discussions with global health and preparedness organizations about potential future procurement for mpox and smallpox preparedness programs. This outreach targets international bodies that influence or directly purchase vaccines for national stockpiles and outbreak response, reflecting growing global recognition of the need to diversify the supply of Modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA) vaccines, currently concentrated with a single commercial manufacturer. The move marks an important transition from development toward commercialization planning, with GeoVax expressing confidence in GEO-MVA's potential to contribute to global preparedness stockpiles following successful completion of a planned Phase 3 study scheduled to begin in the second half of 2026.

The GEO-MVA program has progressed through extensive regulatory dialogue with the European Medicines Agency (EMA), which has provided scientific advice supporting an expedited development pathway based on a single immunobridging trial to the licensed MVA vaccine. David Dodd, Chairman and CEO of GeoVax, emphasized that the EMA's guidance validates the scientific foundation of GEO-MVA and acknowledges the public health priority of expanding global MVA vaccine supply. Dodd noted positive responses from global health organizations and preparedness agencies, viewing this engagement as an endorsement of the program's progress and its potential to address the worldwide need for expanded MVA vaccine supply, while also representing a critical step toward commercialization and potential revenue generation through government and global health procurement programs.

These discussions occur amid growing policy dialogue about the strategic importance of expanding global MVA vaccine manufacturing capacity, with GEO-MVA positioned as a potential strategically important medical countermeasure for both global public health preparedness and national biodefense initiatives. Recent mpox outbreaks have reinforced that mpox is an evolving infectious disease threat with potential for continued geographic expansion and recurrence, leading governments and international health organizations to emphasize the need for manufacturing diversification and supply redundancy. In the United States, policymakers and defense stakeholders have recognized the absence of domestic MVA vaccine manufacturing capability, a gap with implications for civilian preparedness and military readiness. Dodd highlighted that establishing additional MVA manufacturing capability is increasingly viewed as an important component of global preparedness, with growing interest from public health organizations, governments, and defense stakeholders who recognize the strategic importance of supply diversification. For more information, visit www.geovax.com.