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immunity said on wednesday experimental drugs Help patients lose weight and minimize The finding of loss of muscle mass in mid-stage trials could make it stand out in a potentially crowded market.
Altimmune is one of several small biotech companies aiming to compete directly with rivals. Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly and Company In the growing field of weight loss drugs, or being acquired by a larger drugmaker, this could help bring their treatments to market.
The results are an early sign that the biotech company can address major concerns surrounding the treatments, which have attracted sustained demand and investor interest over the last year.
Some health experts say weight-loss drugs may shrink critical muscle mass, increase injury risk and reduce strength.
But in late-stage trials, more than 74 percent of the weight patients lost after weekly injections of Altimmune came from fat tissue. Meanwhile, only 25.5% comes from lean body mass, according to the company. These results are similar to those commonly seen with diet and exercise weight loss programs.
On average, patients taking the 2.4 mg dose of Altimmune lost an average of 15.6% of their weight after 48 weeks in the trial, and the weight loss continued at the end of treatment.Company No. 1 declare Weight loss data for the drug, called pemvidutide, were released in November.
“Maintaining lean body mass during weight loss is critical, as excessive loss of lean body mass can have negative consequences, such as (progressive loss of muscle mass and strength) and fractures, especially in women and older adults,” said Altimmune’s chief medical officer Dr. Curt Harris said in a statement. “There is a growing recognition that the quality of weight lost is just as important as the quantity lost.”
In a clinical trial of semaglutide, the active ingredient in Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy, researchers examined approximately 140 patients. During the 68-week trial, participants lost an average of about 15 pounds of muscle and 23 pounds of fat.
These results suggest a higher rate of lean body mass loss compared with Altimmune’s trial. Still, Altimmune still needs to conduct late-stage trials of its drug, so it’s too early to tell how much of an advantage it has over existing weight-loss treatments.
The two drugs also work differently.
Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide suppresses appetite in humans by mimicking a hormone called GLP-1 produced in the gut. At the same time, Altimmune’s drug activates GLP-1 and another gut hormone called glucagon, which increases energy expenditure.
Altimmune is also developing the drug to treat a common liver disease called metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH).
Other obesity drug manufacturers are also working to help patients maintain muscle mass.
Eli Lilly and Company, for example, is testing whether combining its weight-loss drug with Versanis Bio’s monoclonal antibody can help patients lose weight while preserving muscle mass. The pharmaceutical giant recently acquired Versanis, part of a series of companies targeting weight loss and muscle loss.
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