GAITHERSBURG, Md., Sept. 24, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Altimmune, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALT), a clinical-stage immunotherapeutics company, today announced that the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) is modifying its existing contract with Altimmune by adding $2.5 million to the $21.6 million base contract ($24.1 million total for the modified base contract) and extending the performance period through November 2019. The increase in funding is intended to allow vaccine characterization including key formulation parameters and batch consistency. In addition, Altimmune will assay clinical samples from their ongoing Phase 1 clinical trial for a mucosal immune response and compare different methods of intranasal administration of the vaccine in preclinical models.
“We are pleased that BARDA has made this additional funding available for vaccine characterization and additional data in our ongoing Phase 1 study,” said William J. Enright, president and chief executive officer of Altimmune. “BARDA has been a tremendous partner showing its support for our program with every step. We are excited to continue to advance development of this potentially important easy to administer, needle-free vaccine.”
The NasoShield program is funded through a contract with BARDA (HHSO100201600008C), which runs through September 2021 and, if all options are exercised, an additional $105 million is expected to provide funding through the end of Phase 2 development. Immunogenicity data for the two-dose cohort is expected to be available in the fourth quarter of this year.
About Altimmune
Altimmune is a clinical-stage immunotherapeutics company focused on the development of products to stimulate robust and durable immune responses for the prevention and treatment of infectious disease. NasoVAX our influenza vaccine candidate has unique characteristics, stimulating multiple arms of the immune system that offer the potential to stop infection and the spread of flu, while being easier to administer through an intranasal spray. NasoShield is a next-generation anthrax vaccine candidate that is intended to improve protection and safety while having favorable dosage and storage requirements compared to other anthrax vaccines.
