Altimmune, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, announced that it has expanded its previously-announced AdCOVID™ manufacturing collaboration with Lonza. Under the expanded agreement, Lonza will commission a dedicated manufacturing suite for clinical and commercial production of AdCOVID, Altimmune’s single-dose intranasal vaccine candidate for COVID-19, at its facility near Houston, Texas.
AdCOVID is a COVID-19 vaccine candidate that is administered via nasal spray. In preclinical studies, AdCOVID was shown to activate systemic immunity (neutralizing antibodies and T cell responses) and mucosal immunity in the respiratory tract. Activation of mucosal immunity may prevent both SARS-CoV-2 virus infection and transmission. In preclinical studies, AdCOVID stimulated a 29-fold increase in mucosal IgA, well above the level associated with protection in clinical studies of influenza.
Based on clinical experience with Altimmune’s vaccine platform technology, Altimmune anticipates that AdCOVID could provide immunity of up to a year or more following a single dose with the potential for a favorable tolerability profile. Vaccine stability is critical for efficient vaccine deployment and based on data from Altimmune’s other intranasal vaccine candidates, AdCOVID is expected to be shipped without cold chain logistics, permitting common refrigerated storage at community-based vaccination centers without the need for specialized freezer storage.
