Altimmune expands COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing deal with Lonza
pharmafile | March 12, 2021 | News story | Medical Communications | Altimmune, COVID-19, Lonza, vaccines
Altimmune has expanded its previously-announced AdCOVID vaccine 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 vaccine candidate for COVID-19, at its facility near Houston, Texas.
AdCOVID is administered via nasal spray. In preclinical studies, the vaccine was shown to activate systemic immunity and mucosal immunity in the respiratory tract. Activation of mucosal immunity may prevent both coronavirus 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, the company anticipates that its candidate could provide immunity of up to a year or more following a single dose, with the potential for a favourable 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 centres without the need for specialised freezer storage.
Dr Vyjayanthi Krishnan, Vice President of Product Development at 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, Senior Vice President of Head of Cell and Gene Technologies at Lonza, added: “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.”
Darcy Jimenez
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