Altimmune, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALT), a late clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on serious liver diseases, today announced positive topline results from the RECLAIM Phase 2 trial evaluating pemvidutide, an investigational balanced glucagon/GLP-1 dual receptor agonist, in patients with moderate to severe alcohol use disorder (AUD). The trial met its primary endpoint with a highly statistically significant reduction in heavy drinking days (HDD) versus placebo, with consistent positive results across important secondary endpoints, including the World Health Organization (WHO) Risk Drinking Levels (RDL), zero HDD and phosphatidyl ethanol (PEth) levels. A generally favorable tolerability profile was observed in the trial. The Company plans to request an End-of-Phase 2 meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) based on the results of the trial.
"We are extremely encouraged by these compelling topline results, which showed a highly significant reduction in heavy drinking days and nearly two-thirds of patients treated with pemvidutide achieving a two-level reduction in their WHO-RDL, a clinically meaningful outcome for these patients," said Christophe Arbet-Engels, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer at Altimmune. "These data reflect pemvidutide’s strong and consistent efficacy across important measures of drinking behavior, together with a generally favorable tolerability profile in this difficult-to-treat disorder. Given the known detrimental effects of alcohol on the liver, the liver-directed impact of glucagon in pemvidutide may provide further benefit in the treatment of AUD over GLP-1 alone, underscoring pemvidutide’s promising potential differentiation."
Efficacy Data
| Endpoint | Placebo | Pemvidutide | Treatment Effect | P-value |
| Change from baseline in HDD/Week at Week 24 (Primary Endpoint) | -2.75 (LS mean) | -4.20 (LS mean) | -1.45 (LS mean difference) | 0.0014 |
| 2-level Reduction in WHO-RDL | 34.8% (16/46) | 64.4% (29/45) | Odds Ratio 3.31 | 0.0049 |
| Zero HDD in Week 21 through Week 24 | 17.4% (8/46) | 42.2% (19/45) | Odds Ratio 3.84 | 0.0066 |
| Change from baseline in Percent of Days with Abstinence | 20.5% (LS mean) | 38.9% (LS mean) | 18.4% (LS mean difference) | 0.0075 |
| Change from baseline in Serum PEth at Week 24 | 22.0 (LS mean) | -153.4 (LS mean) | -175.3 (LS mean difference) | <0.0001 |
Key efficacy results included: