GAITHERSBURG, Md., July 09, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Altimmune, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALT), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, today announced that it has entered into a teaming agreement with DynPort Vaccine Company (DVC), a General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT) company, to coordinate U.S. Government funding efforts and, if successful, to provide program management, drug development activity integration, and regulatory support for AdCOVID, Altimmune’s single-dose intranasal COVID-19 vaccine candidate.
DVC has extensive experience in vaccine development and as the prime contractor and systems integrator for the preclinical, manufacturing, clinical and regulatory activities needed to secure FDA licensure of new drug products. DVC has supported vaccines and medical countermeasures for emerging diseases and bioterror threats under contracts with the Department of Defense, the Biomedical Advance Research and Development Authority (BARDA), and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). The partnership with DVC significantly expands Altimmune’s capabilities to efficiently obtain and execute on U.S. Government funding opportunities to support the development of AdCOVID. Altimmune and DVC believe AdCOVID is an attractive vaccine candidate to government funding agencies based on its highly differentiated product profile.
Preclinical studies of AdCOVID are currently being conducted in collaboration with the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), and initial results from these studies are expected in the near term. The Company expects to begin manufacturing of the vaccine candidate during Q3 2020 followed by a Phase 1 clinical trial during Q4 2020.
AdCOVID is an intranasal COVID-19 vaccine candidate designed to guard the respiratory tract from viral invasion and to provide downstream protection against viral spread through stimulation of both mucosal and systemic antibodies (IgA and IgG) as well as cell-mediated immunity. By stimulating mucosal immunity in the nasal cavity, a key point of entry and replication for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, AdCOVID has the potential to defend against both the infection and spread of the virus to others. AdCOVID’s intranasal delivery method provides an easier route of administration than an injection and may eliminate the need for administration by trained medical personnel. In addition, since it is expected to have extended stability at room temperature, AdCOVID may avoid the need for costly cold chain logistics.
Altimmune has two programs currently secured with non-dilutive government funding: NasoShieldTM, a single dose intranasal anthrax vaccine candidate, which is being developed under a contract with a total potential value of $133.7 million (HHSO100201600008C) with BARDA, and T-COVIDTM, an intranasal therapeutic for early COVID-19, which is being developed under a $4.7 million contract with the U.S. Army Medical Research & Development Command (USAMRDC). Both programs are based on the same replication-deficient adenovirus 5 platform as AdCOVID.
About DynPort Vaccine Company
DynPort Vaccine Company, a GDIT company, was founded in 1997 to develop vaccines and therapeutics for US Government customers. Based in Frederick, MD, the company has focused on the advanced development of medical countermeasures for biodefense and emerging infectious diseases, and chemical warfare agents. DVC holds contracts with the US Department of Defense, and Health and Human Services. To learn more about DVC, visit www.gdit.com/dvc.
About Altimmune
Altimmune is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing treatments for liver disease, immune modulating therapies and intranasal vaccines. Our diverse pipeline includes next generation peptide therapeutics for NASH (ALT-801) and chronic hepatitis B (HepTcell™), an intranasal immune modulating treatment for COVID-19 (T-COVID™) and intranasal vaccines (AdCOVID™, NasoShield™ and NasoVAX™). For more information on Altimmune, please visit www.altimmune.com.
