Altimmune says weight loss drug minimized muscle loss in trial results, which may set it apart

Altimmune
on
Wednesday
said
its

experimental
drug
helped
patients
shed
weight
but
also

minimized
the
loss
of
muscle
mass
in
a
midstage
trial,
a
finding
that
could
set
it
apart
in
a
potentially
crowded
market.

Altimmune
is
one
of
several
smaller
biotech
companies
that
are
pushing
to
compete
directly
with


Novo
Nordisk
and


Eli
Lilly
in
the
growing

weight
loss
drug
space,
or
to
get
scooped
up
by
larger
drugmakers
that
can
help
bring
their
treatments
to
market.

The
results
are
an
early
sign
that
the
biotech
company
can
address
a
major
concern
around
those
treatments,
which
have
drawn
unrelenting
demand
and
investor
interest
over
the
last
year.

Some
health
experts
have
said
that
obesity
drugs
could
shrink
critical
muscle
mass,
which
could
raise
the
risk
of
injuries
and
decrease
strength.

But
in
Altimmune’s
late-stage
trial,
more
than
74%
of
the
weight
that
patients
lost
after
taking
the
company’s
weekly
injection
came
from
fat
tissue
and
only
25.5%
came
from
lean
mass,
according
to
the
company.
Those
results
are
similar
to
those
often
seen
with
diet
and
exercise
programs
for
weight
loss. 

Patients
who
took
a
2.4-milligram
dose
of
Altimmune’s
drug
every
week
for
48
weeks
lost
15.6%
of
their
weight
on
average
in
the
trial,
with
weight
loss
continuing
at
the
end
of
treatment,
the
company
said.

The
company
first

announced
that
weight
loss
data
on
the
drug,
called
pemvidutide,
in
November. 

“Preservation
of
lean
mass
during
weight
loss
is
critical,
since
excessive
loss
of
lean
mass
has
been
associated
with
negative
outcomes,
such
as
[a
gradual loss
of
muscle
mass and strength]
and
bone
fractures,
especially
in
women
and
the
elderly,”
Altimmune
Chief
Medical
Officer
Scott
Harris
said
in
a
statement. “There
is
a
growing
appreciation
that
the
quality
of
weight
loss
is
as
important
as
the
quantity
of
weight
loss.”

In
a
clinical
trial
on
semaglutide,
the
active
ingredient
in
Novo
Nordisk’s
Ozempic
and
Wegovy,
researchers
examined
the
loss
of
lean
muscle
mass
in
a
subgroup
of
about

140
patients.
On
average,
participants
lost
about
15
pounds
of
lean
muscle
and
23
pounds
of
fat
during
the
68-week
trial. 

Those
results
suggest
a
higher
rate
of
lean
mass
decline
than
in
Altimmune’s
trial.
Still,
Altimmune
needs
to
conduct
late-stage
trials
on
its
drug,
so
it’s
too
early
to
say
how
much
of
an
edge
it
has
over
existing
weight
loss
treatments.

The
two
drugs
also
work
differently. 

Semaglutide
mimics
a
hormone
produced
in
the
gut
called
GLP-1
to
suppress
a
person’s
appetite.
Meanwhile,
Altimmune’s
drug
activates
GLP-1
and
another
gut
hormone
called
glucagon,
which
increases
energy
expenditure.

Altimmune
is
also
developing
that
drug
to

treat
a
common
form
of
liver
disease
called
metabolic
dysfunction-associated
steatohepatitis,
or
MASH.

Other
makers
of
obesity
drugs
are
also
trying
to
help
patients
maintain
muscle
mass.

For
example,
Eli
Lilly
is
testing
whether
combining
its
weight
loss
drug
with
a
monoclonal
antibody
from
Versanis
Bio
might
help
patients
lose
weight
while
preserving
muscle
mass.
The
pharmaceutical
giant
recently
acquired
Versanis,
which
is
part
of
a
slate
of
companies
targeting
the
muscle-loss
aspect
of
weight
loss.