Altimmune, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, has entered into an agreement with Lonza for the manufacturing of AdCOVID, Altimmune’s next-generation single-dose intranasal vaccine candidate for COVID-19.
 
AdCOVID is a single-dose COVID-19 vaccine candidate that has the potential to be conveniently administered via an intranasal spray. In addition to activating systemic immunity (neutralizing antibodies and T cell responses), AdCOVID stimulates a type of localized immunity called mucosal immunity, which can act to prevent both SARS-CoV-2 virus infection and transmission.
 
In preclinical studies, AdCOVID produced a 29-fold increase in mucosal IgA, well above the level associated with protection observed in several clinical studies from influenza, another respiratory virus.
 
Based on clinical experience with the Altimmune’s vaccine platform technology, AdCOVID is expected to provide durable immunity of up to a year or more following a single dose and to have an excellent tolerability and stability profile. Vaccine stability is critical for efficient vaccine deployment and AdCOVID is expected to be shipped without a cold chain and permit common refrigerated storage conditions at community-based vaccination centers without the need for specialized freezer storage.
 
“We are excited about the potential of our AdCOVID vaccine candidate and are actively focused on expanding our network of strategic manufacturing partners to ensure Altimmune’s commercial readiness to supply vaccine in 2021 should our clinical data support this advancement,” said Vyjoo Krishnan, vice president of product development, Altimmune. “Lonza is a tremendous partner in this mission, with deep expertise and experience in vector manufacturing and global world-class facilities capable of manufacturing AdCOVID at commercial scale.”
 
Vipin K. Garg, president and chief executive officer, Altimmune, said, “We strongly believe there is a compelling need for next-generation COVID-19 vaccines and are rapidly advancing our development program for AdCOVID to meet this demand. Our agreement with Lonza expands on our current clinical and commercial manufacturing strategy for AdCOVID, aligning us with leaders in vaccine manufacturing and positioning Altimmune for commercial-readiness in 2021.  We plan to commence a clinical study of AdCOVID in the fourth quarter, with a data readout from this study anticipated in the first quarter of 2021.”
 
Alberto Santagostino, senior vice president, head of cell and gene technologies, Lonza, said, “We are deeply committed to fighting this global pandemic and deploying our expertise and resources to help vaccine developers like Altimmune meet commercial manufacturing requirements for novel and promising vaccine candidates. Lonza is proud to be well-positioned to support these companies in their mission to serve such critical public health needs.”