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Altimmune (NASDAQ:ALT) shares lost ~21% premarket Wednesday after the company shared mid-stage data for its obesity candidate, pemvidutide and announced plans to end a key liver disease program.
Citing data from its MOMENTUM trial, Altimmune (ALT) said pemvidutide, a dual GLP-1/glucagon dual receptor agonist, led to weight loss while largely preserving lean mass.
Loss of muscle mass is an issue associated with currently approved GLP-1 agonists from Eli Lilly (LLY) and Novo Nordisk (NVO).
The Gaithersburg, Maryland-based biotech shared positive topline data from MOMENTUM in November, indicating a mean weight loss of 15.6% for those on 2.4 mg of pemvidutide at week 48.
According to additional data from the 48-week trial, 74.5% of weight loss was linked to fat tissue, and 25.5% of weight loss was derived from lean mass, comparable to effects associated with diet and exercise.
“We believe that pemvidutide has the potential to distinguish itself broadly from other therapies for the treatment of obesity,” ALT’s CEO, Vipin Garg, remarked.
With its Q4 results, the company also announced plans to terminate its liver disease program for immunotherapy HepTcell targeted at chronic Hepatitis B infections.
The decision comes after the overall response data in ALT’s Phase 2 trial for HepTcell in patients chronically infected with hepatitis B lagged expectations.
“As a result, any further development related to HepTcell has been stopped,” the company said.
