Altimmune, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharma company, has expanded its AdCOVID manufacturing collaboration with Lonza, under which 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, TX.
 
AdCOVID, administered via nasal spray, was shown to activate systemic immunity (neutralizing antibodies and T cell responses) and mucosal immunity in the respiratory tract in preclinical studies. 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.
 
AdCOVID, leveraging Altimmune’s vaccine platform technology, could provide immunity of up to a year or more following a single dose with the potential for a favorable tolerability profile. AdCOVID is expected to be shipped without cold chain logistics, permitting common refrigerated storage.
 
Dr. Vyjayanthi Krishnan, Vice President of Product Development, Altimmune, said, “Manufacturing capacity for COVID-19 vaccines has been severely constrained, and this limitation has presented considerable challenges for vaccine developers. By expanding our Lonza collaboration and commissioning our own dedicated manufacturing suite, we are building extra capacity and redundancy into our manufacturing to support potential late-stage clinical trials with AdCOVID and potential future commercial supply. Lonza continues to be an outstanding partner in this mission, and we are pleased to have the opportunity to further our relationship with this world class team.”
  
Alberto Santagostino, SVP, Head of Cell and Gene Technologies, Lonza, said, “Altimmune’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate could be a complete game-changer in the fight against COVID-19. Our reinforced commitment is to enable the team at Altimmune to scale-up production as needed and deliver vaccines at a global scale when ready.”