GeoVax Labs, Inc. (Nasdaq: GOVX) announced a Memorandum of Agreement with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) on September 14, 2026, granting the company access to the CEPI Centralised Laboratory Network for clinical trial sample testing in support of its planned pivotal Phase 3 immune-bridging study of GEO-MVA, an MVA-based vaccine candidate targeting mpox and smallpox. The agreement matters because it provides independent laboratory evaluation using standardized assays and reporting procedures, which could reduce variability in trial readouts and help regulators consistently assess vaccine performance.
CEPI’s network is the largest global group of laboratories dedicated to harmonizing immunological assessment of vaccines against infectious diseases with epidemic and pandemic potential. By using the same methods and validated assays across network scientists, the possibility of variability in trial readouts is minimized. For GeoVax, this independent evaluation supports a broader strategic objective: building scientific evidence necessary to establish GEO-MVA as an additional source of MVA-based mpox vaccine supply at a time when outbreaks and preparedness requirements continue to demonstrate the importance of resilient, diversified vaccine capacity.
GeoVax expects to initiate its approximately 500-participant pivotal Phase 3 immune-bridging study in the fourth quarter of 2026, with results expected in mid-2027. Recent global mpox outbreaks have underscored the risks of constrained vaccine supply and the importance of expanding MVA vaccine capacity. GeoVax believes sustainable preparedness will increasingly require not only adequate vaccine stockpiles, but also multiple qualified sources of supply and manufacturing capacity capable of serving different regions of the world.
“Independent evaluation is an important step toward building confidence in GEO-MVA among regulators, public-health organizations, governments and potential strategic partners,” said David Dodd, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of GeoVax. “Our agreement with CEPI provides access to a highly respected global laboratory network capable of testing and characterizing immune responses associated with GEO-MVA.” Dodd continued, “But the larger objective extends beyond development of another mpox vaccine. The global preparedness community needs resilient MVA supply. We believe that the data produced by CEPI’s network could pave the way for an additional qualified supply source of mpox vaccine supply if we are successful in testing and licensure, reducing dependence on a single manufacturing infrastructure and ultimately enabling production capacity that can be deployed closer to the populations it is intended to protect.”
Under the agreement, clinical samples provided by GeoVax will be evaluated through the CEPI Centralised Laboratory Network using assays specific to orthopoxviruses, the family of viruses to which mpox and smallpox belong. The independent nature of the testing is particularly important as GeoVax advances GEO-MVA toward its pivotal Phase 3 study. Results generated through CEPI’s laboratory network will provide independently generated and standardized immunological data that will inform GeoVax’s ongoing clinical development and future regulatory interactions.
“CEPI’s Centralised Laboratory Network was set up during the COVID-19 pandemic to help reduce clinical testing differences that can emerge from independent laboratory review to instead ensure easy access and alignment to key data that could support vaccine approvals” said Dr Amy Shurtleff, Director of Laboratory Research and Innovation Department at CEPI. “It has rapidly expanded since then, with vaccine developers around the world using the service to evaluate thousands of their samples produced during trials of promising vaccine candidates against other deadly pathogens, including mpox. Our new agreement with GeoVax enables the company to access validated, high-quality mpox testing tools that could fast-track its promising GEO-MVA mpox vaccine through development and give the world further options to fight this harmful, recurring disease.”
The agreement also provides a framework under which CEPI may share anonymized summaries of sample-testing results with the World Health Organization (WHO), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and others to further CEPI’s mission to transform the world’s response to epidemic and pandemic threats, including diseases like mpox. GeoVax will cover the full testing costs associated with the research carried out by CEPI’s Centralised Laboratory Network. CEPI has not provided specific funding for the development of GEO-MVA.
GeoVax is developing GEO-MVA to expand global access to MVA vaccine supply, scalable production capabilities, and a capital-efficient regulatory pathway. The company believes GEO-MVA has the potential to become an important strategic preparedness asset by providing governments and international public health organizations with an additional, reliable source of MVA vaccine to support biosecurity and orthopoxvirus preparedness. For more information, visit www.geovax.com and CEPI.net.
