Altimmune, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALT) Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

Scott Harris: Okay Seamus. Yes, as we’ve said before, that 8% to 10% is placebo adjusted. As Vipin mentioned, at the end of the year we’d like to be in that 15% to 20% range, and where we would be at the end of 24 weeks is how you look at the curve. We should point out that at the same time point, the 24 weeks, semaglutide, which has been a very successful drug – I think there were over 60,000 scripts written last week alone, was at 8% placebo adjusted weight loss. Tirzepatide was at 12%, so the 8% to 10% is certainly within that range and is actually in excess of semaglutide, and we think that based on our Phase I data, we can have very, very good weight loss, but we’ve constructed our target product profile to include not just a weight loss percentage number but the full spectrum of what’s going to differentiate drugs and get doctors to use them.

The benefits of the drug are going to be well beyond the simple weight loss number. It’s going to include all the other attributes that Vipin talked about.

Vipin Garg: Yes, and I would also point out that when we are comparing 15% to 20%, we’re looking at 68 to 72 weeks for semaglutide and for tirzepatide versus what we are looking at here is a 48-week study, so there’s still a lot of runway left there to achieve additional weight loss beyond 48 weeks.

Seamus Fernandez: Thank you.

Operator: Thank you. One moment for our next question. Our next question comes from the line of Yasmeen Rahimi from Piper Sandler.

Yasmeen Rahimi: Good morning team, and thank you so much for all the updates and detail. A few questions for you. I just wanted to drill down on the design of the NASH study. What is the duration of the study, and I just wanted to also clarify, is the study powered for both end points, NASH evolution as well as a one-point improvement of fibrosis? Then broadly speaking, what is the size of the study going to be, so if you could just drill down there. Then sorry, one last question about the diabetes study, a lot of clients are wondering, and given that that study is also reading out at March around the same time as we’re expecting interim MOMENTUM, how do you plan on sharing that data? Thank you again for taking my long list of questions.

Vipin Garg: Yes, let me take the second question and then Scott, maybe you can take the first one. As far as the diabetes study is concerned, both the studies are neck in neck. We’re prioritizing the MOMENTUM study to make sure that data is out as quickly as possible in the second half of March, but we’re also expecting the diabetes data around the same time. It’s hard to say exactly what the timing will play out, but I would say it’s going to be very close to each other.

Scott Harris: Yes, and Yas, thanks for the question about the NASH study. That study is still in its final stages of design. We’re going to share those additional details as soon as we can. At this point in time, we do believe that we’re going to be reading out at 24 weeks. We consider both end points important. The actual power calculation will need to be worked out, but the hope would be that we could power for both; but again, that’s going to depend on the sample size, and that hasn’t been finalized at this point either, but we do hope to get you those details as soon as possible.