Altimmune, Inc. is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, which focuses on the development of novel peptide-based therapeutics for the treatment of obesity and liver diseases. The company is headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland and currently employs 59 full-time employees. The company went IPO on 2005-10-06. The firm is focused on developing next-generation peptide-based therapeutics. The company is developing pemvidutide, a GLP-1/glucagon dual receptor agonist for the treatment of obesity, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) and other indications. Activation of the GLP-1 and glucagon receptors is believed to mimic the complementary effects of diet and exercise on weight loss, with GLP-1 suppressing appetite and glucagon increasing energy expenditure. Glucagon is also recognized as having direct effects on hepatic fat metabolism, to rapid reductions in levels of liver fat and serum lipids. The firm has completed the MOMENTUM Phase II obesity trial and is being studied in the IMPACT Phase IIb MASH trial. The firm also develops and commercializes surfactant-functionalized (EuPort domain) incretin-based peptide therapeutics, including (GLP-1-glucagon)/oxyntomodulin, and variants.
