Altimmune posts a metabolic let-down

The project formerly known as ALT-801, which caused much excitement when interim data from a phase 1 trial obesity trial last year showed promising levels of weight loss, has rather let itself down with data in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (Nafld) today. Altimmune’s dual GLP-1 and glucagon receptor agonist, now called pemvidutide, met the study’s primary endpoint at three months, with all doses showing a reduction in liver fat content. The lack of a dose-response on this measure is perhaps explained by the four-week titration employed at the 2.4mg dose. But weight loss data in particular disappointed; mean placebo-adjusted weight loss of 4.1% in subjects with or without diabetes with the 1.8mg dose compares poorly with the 6.3% seen in six-week interim phase 1 data in obesity, released last year. It is also some way behind the spectacular results posted by Lilly’s Mounjaro earlier this year. True, today’s data on pemvi come from a Nafld trial rather than a study specifically in obesity, and the trial enrolled patients with or without diabetes, whereas the obesity study excluded diabetics. But the 31% fall in Altimmune’s stock speaks for itself: investors wanted more.