Clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company Altimmune Inc. (ALT:NASDAQ), which focuses it efforts on developing treatments for liver disease, intranasal vaccines and immune modulating therapies, today announced that "it has entered into a teaming agreement with DynPort Vaccine Company (DVC), a General Dynamics Information Technology 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."
The company noted that DVC has extensive experience in vaccine development and has supported vaccines and medical countermeasures for emerging diseases and bioterror threats under contracts with the Biomedical Advance Research and Development Authority, the Department of Defense and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
The firm indicated that it is collaborating with the University of Alabama at Birmingham on preclinical AdCOVID studies and that the initial results from these studies are expected to be received shortly. Altimmune anticipates that it will be able to start manufacturing the vaccine candidate in Q3/20 and that it will commence a Phase 1 clinical trial during Q4/20.
The company explained that "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." The firm stated that it believes that AdCOVID's intranasal delivery method is much simpler than an injection and may possibly eliminate the requirement for the vaccine to be administration by trained medical staff.
Altimmune advised that it already has two existing programs that were supported by non-dilutive government funding. Those programs are NasoShieldTM, a single dose intranasal anthrax vaccine candidate, and T-COVIDTM, an intranasal therapeutic for early COVID-19.
DynPort Vaccine Co. is based in Frederick, Md., and was established in order to develop vaccines and therapeutics for U.S. Government customers. The company has been involved in developing medical countermeasures for biodefense, chemical warfare agents and emerging infectious diseases.
Altimmune is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Gaithersburg, Md., that is engaged in the development of treatments for liver disease, immune modulating therapies and intranasal vaccines. The firm stated that "its diversified 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™)."
Altimmune started the day with a market capitalization of around $342.5 million with approximately 20.11 million shares outstanding and a short interest of about 13.1%. ALT shares opened slightly lower today at $16.73 (-$0.30, -1.76%) versus yesterday's $17.03 closing price, but later reached a new 52-week high price this morning of $24.65.The stock has traded today between $16.11 and $24.65 per share and is currently trading at $20.62 (+$3.59, +21.08%).
[NLINSERT]Disclosure:
1) Stephen Hytha compiled this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise Reports as an independent contractor. He or members of his household own securities of the following companies mentioned in the article: None. He or members of his household are paid by the following companies mentioned in this article: None.
2) The following companies mentioned in this article are billboard sponsors of Streetwise Reports: None. Click here for important disclosures about sponsor fees.
3) Comments and opinions expressed are those of the specific experts and not of Streetwise Reports or its officers. The information provided above is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security.
4) The article does not constitute investment advice. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her individual financial professional and any action a reader takes as a result of information presented here is his or her own responsibility. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports' terms of use and full legal disclaimer. This article is not a solicitation for investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company mentioned on Streetwise Reports.
5) From time to time, Streetwise Reports LLC and its directors, officers, employees or members of their families, as well as persons interviewed for articles and interviews on the site, may have a long or short position in securities mentioned. Directors, officers, employees or members of their immediate families are prohibited from making purchases and/or sales of those securities in the open market or otherwise from the time of the interview or the decision to write an article until three business days after the publication of the interview or article. The foregoing prohibition does not apply to articles that in substance only restate previously published company releases.
6) This article does not constitute medical advice. Officers, employees and contributors to Streetwise Reports are not licensed medical professionals. Readers should always contact their healthcare professionals for medical advice.
