GeoVax Labs Receives $0.8M Funding Boost from NIAID to Progress HIV Vaccine

GeoVax Labs has had an existing $3.6 million annual grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) increased to $4.4 million, to further support development of the firm’s HIV vaccine. The firm announced receipt of the designated $3.6 million tranche just a couple of weeks ago.

The five-year Integrated Preclinical/Clinical AIDS Vaccine Development grant was originally awarded in 2007, and the latest $0.8 million increase reflects an administrative supplement to support vaccine response characterization, GeoVax states.

This supplement for the 2011–12 grant year is the third for the GeoVax program, bringing the initial award of $15.4 million now to an aggregate of $20.4 million. “This award is important for the advancement of our GM-CSF adjuvanted vaccine that is achieving an unprecedented level of prevention of infection,” comments Harriet Robinson, Ph.D., GeoVax CSO. The firm had originally projected developing the vaccine for use in controlling existing HIV infection, but says it has observed that administration of the vaccine also provides high levels of preventive protection.