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Altimmune Announces Data Presentation on ALT-801, its Balanced and Long-Acting GLP-1/Glucagon Receptor Dual Agonist for NASH, at the Digital International Liver Congress™ 2020
GAITHERSBURG, Md., Aug. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Altimmune, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALT), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, today announced a preclinical
About this update from Altimmune, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"GAITHERSBURG, Md., Aug. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Altimmune, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALT), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, today announced a preclinical data presentation on ALT-801, its balanced and long-acting GLP-1/glucagon receptor dual agonist under development for NASH, at the Digital International Liver Congress™ 2020, the 55th Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL), to be held virtually from August 27, 2020 to August 29, 2020.\n “We are excited to share the compelling preclinical body of work on the weight loss, NASH improvement and gene regulatory signatures induced by ALT-801 at EASL as we prepare to commence our first in human Phase 1 trial next quarter,” said M. Scott Harris, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of Altimmune. Dr. Harris continued, “As the Gubra mouse model has historically translated well into human studies, we believe that the data from this study will position ALT-801 as a promising candidate for NASH.” Employing the well-established Gubra mouse model, animals with biopsy-confirmed NASH received ALT-801 (5 or 10 nmol/kg), semaglutide (10 nmol/kg), a GLP-1 receptor agonist or vehicle subcutaneously for 12 weeks. ALT-801 demonstrated statistically superior reductions (p ≤ 0.05) in body weight, liver weight, plasma ALT, liver triglycerides and cholesterol, plasma cholesterol, NAFLD activity scores, and fibrosis markers compared to semaglutide. Principal component analysis differentially clustered genes regulated by ALT-801 from those regulated by semaglutide, consistent with a unique gene regulatory signature associated with glucagon receptor activation. ALT-801 also resulted in greater suppression of archetypal genes involved in de novo lipogenesis and fatty acid uptake, inflammation, hepatocellular death, fibrosis and stellate cell activation than semaglutide. The Phase 1 trial will be conducted in Australia and will evaluate the safety, pharmacokinetics and activity of ALT-801 over 6 weeks treatment in overweight and obese volunteers. The readout from this study, which will include validation of the compound’s weight loss and liver fat-reducing effects observed in preclinical studies, is expected in the spring of 2021. Details for the poster presentation are as follows: Title: GLP-1/Glucagon Dual Receptor Agonist ALT-801 is Superior to Semaglutide in Improving NASH...