Altimmune, Inc. (ALT): History, Ownership, Mission, How It Works & Makes Money

As a late clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, is Altimmune, Inc. (ALT) finally nearing its major inflection point after securing a cash position of over $210.8 million as of September 30, 2025? The company's focus on its lead candidate, pemvidutide-a dual receptor agonist for high-need indications like metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH)-puts it squarely in the competitive cardiometabolic disease market, even while reporting a Q3 2025 net loss of $19.0 million. With a critical End-of-Phase 2 meeting with the FDA and 48-week IMPACT trial data expected before year-end, you need to understand the history, ownership, and financial model driving this high-stakes pipeline before the next big news hits.

Altimmune, Inc. (ALT) History

You're looking for the real story of Altimmune, Inc., not the corporate fluff. The company you see today is the result of a strategic merger, a common move in biotech to consolidate pipelines and capital. Its history is a clear trajectory from vaccine development to a sharp focus on the high-value metabolic and liver disease markets, centered on its lead candidate, pemvidutide. That pivot was the most important decision they ever made.

Given Company's Founding Timeline

Year established

The entity known as Altimmune, Inc. was effectively established in 2017 through the merger of PharmAthene, Inc. and Vaxin Inc. The roots go back further, though: Vaxin was founded in 1997, and PharmAthene originated as Healthcare Acquisition Corp., a blank check company, in 2005.

Original location

The company's corporate headquarters is located in Gaithersburg, Maryland, a key hub for biotechnology companies in the United States.

Founding team members

Due to the merger, a single founding team is complex to pinpoint. Key figures in the current company's trajectory include Vipin K. Garg, Ph.D., who serves as President and Chief Executive Officer. The predecessor company, Healthcare Acquisition Corp., was co-founded by entities like Redmont Capital, represented by Philip Hodges, who later served on the board.

Initial capital/funding

The predecessor company, Healthcare Acquisition Corp., raised gross proceeds of $72,000,000 from its initial public offering (IPO) in August 2005, which provided the initial capital base that was later leveraged. Post-merger, Altimmune has continued to raise capital through public offerings to fund its clinical programs.

Given Company's Evolution Milestones

Given Company's Transformative Moments

The company's trajectory is defined by a few high-stakes, transformative decisions that shifted its entire focus and risk profile.

The first major shift was the 2017 merger, which created the current corporate structure. This move consolidated various assets and provided the platform for NASDAQ listing, moving beyond the legacy of its predecessor entities. It was a clean slate moment for the capital markets.

Honestly, the most critical decision was the 2019 acquisition of pemvidutide and the subsequent full pivot to cardiometabolic and liver diseases. This moved the company from a diversified, lower-profile pipeline to a high-risk, high-reward focus on a single, potentially blockbuster drug. This is where the real money is made-or lost-in biotech.

The financial backing and clinical results in 2025 cemented this new direction. For instance, the company reported cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments of $210.8 million as of September 30, 2025, a 60% increase from the start of the year, which gives them a long runway for the Phase 3 planning. Plus, the positive 24-week MASH data from the IMPACT trial in Q2 2025, showing MASH resolution in up to 59.1% of patients, validated the entire strategic pivot.

• Secured a $125 million credit facility with Hercules Capital in 2025, strengthening the balance sheet for late-stage development.
• Initiated Phase 2 trials for pemvidutide in Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) and Alcohol-Associated Liver Disease (ALD) in Q2 and Q3 2025, respectively, broadening the drug's market opportunity.
• The net loss for the third quarter of 2025 was $19.0 million, reflecting continued significant investment in Research and Development (R&D) expenses, which totaled $15.0 million for the quarter.

Understanding the core strategy behind these moves requires a look at the company's guiding principles. You can read more about that here: Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of Altimmune, Inc. (ALT).

Altimmune, Inc. (ALT) Ownership Structure

Altimmune, Inc.'s ownership structure is typical for a late clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, characterized by a high concentration of shares held by venture capital (VC) funds and institutional investors, giving them defintely outsized influence on strategic direction.

Altimmune, Inc.'s Current Status

Altimmune, Inc. is a publicly traded, late clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company listed on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol ALT. As of November 2025, the company commands a market capitalization of approximately $441.37 million. This valuation reflects the market's assessment of its lead candidate, pemvidutide, which is currently in Phase 2 trials for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) and obesity. The company is well-capitalized, reporting cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments of $210.8 million as of September 30, 2025, a strong position for a company focused on clinical development. You need to understand that in this sector, the stock price is driven by clinical data, not revenue.

The high insider and VC-related ownership is a double-edged sword: it signals strong conviction from those closest to the science, but it also means a small group of shareholders can dictate the terms of any future partnership or sale. For a deeper dive into who is buying and selling, you should be Exploring Altimmune, Inc. (ALT) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

Altimmune, Inc.'s Ownership Breakdown

The shareholder base is dominated by large, strategic investors who were instrumental in the company's earlier funding rounds, often categorized as 'insiders' in public filings due to their board representation or significant stake. This concentration means that retail investors, while numerous, hold a smaller total percentage of the company's equity. Here's the quick math on the breakdown as of November 2025, based on the most recent filings:

BlackRock, Inc. and Vanguard Group Inc. are the two largest institutional holders, controlling a combined stake that is a significant part of the institutional float. This is important because their investment decisions can create significant price momentum, both up and down.

Altimmune, Inc.'s Leadership

The executive team is a mix of long-tenured biotech veterans and recent strategic hires, reflecting the company's pivot toward late-stage clinical execution and commercial planning for pemvidutide. Dr. Vipin K. Garg, Ph.D., has been the President and Chief Executive Officer since 2018, providing stable leadership through the clinical development phases.

The company expanded its senior leadership in 2025 to prepare for potential commercialization and Phase 3 trials. For instance, Dr. Christophe Arbet-Engels, M.D., Ph.D., was appointed Chief Medical Officer in October 2025, a critical move as the company prepares for its End-of-Phase 2 meeting with the FDA in Q4 2025. This is a clear action to strengthen regulatory and clinical expertise.

• Dr. Vipin K. Garg, Ph.D.: President and Chief Executive Officer.
• Greg Weaver, MBA: Chief Financial Officer.
• Dr. Christophe Arbet-Engels, M.D., Ph.D.: Chief Medical Officer (appointed October 2025).
• Linda M. Richardson: Chief Commercial Officer (appointed Q3 2025).
• Dr. Scot Roberts, Ph.D.: Chief Scientific Officer.
• Robin E. Abrams, J.D.: Chief Legal Officer (appointed Q3 2025).

To be fair, the CEO's total compensation of approximately $6.09 million is notably above the average for similar-sized companies, which is a point of scrutiny for investors, especially given the Q3 2025 net loss of $19.0 million. You need to weigh that high executive cost against the potential blockbuster value of their lead drug candidate.

Altimmune, Inc. (ALT) Mission and Values

Altimmune, Inc.'s core purpose transcends simple profit by focusing on developing novel, advanced treatments for serious, prevalent diseases with high unmet medical need, particularly in the liver and cardiometabolic space. Their values are implicitly rooted in scientific rigor and the pursuit of a best-in-class therapeutic profile.

You're looking at a late clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, so their mission isn't just about selling a product today; it's about proving a drug works to unlock massive future value. For the nine months ended September 30, 2025, their trailing 12-month revenue was only about $20K, which shows you how much is riding on their pipeline.

Given Company's Core Purpose

The company's core purpose is to address significant health challenges by developing next-generation peptide-based therapeutics (drugs made from short chains of amino acids). This is a high-stakes, high-reward model, and it's all riding on their lead candidate, pemvidutide.

Here's the quick math on the risk: Altimmune reported a net loss of $19.0 million (or $0.21 per share) in the third quarter of 2025, with R&D expenses at $15.0 million for the same period. They have to spend money to prove the science, but they ended Q3 2025 with a strong cash position of $210.8 million, which buys them runway.

• Focus efforts on liver and cardiometabolic diseases.
• Develop innovative, differentiated peptide-based therapies.
• Address conditions like Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatohepatitis (MASH), obesity, Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD), and Alcohol Liver Disease (ALD).

Official mission statement

Altimmune does not publish a single, formal mission statement in the traditional corporate sense, but their operational mission is clear: to advance their lead drug, pemvidutide, through clinical trials to become a viable, multi-indication treatment. This is their defintely their north star.

• Advance pemvidutide to achieve statistical significance in MASH resolution and fibrosis improvement.
• Initiate and successfully enroll Phase 2 efficacy studies for new indications like AUD and ALD, which commenced in Q2 and Q3 2025, respectively.
• Leverage the drug's dual GLP-1/glucagon mechanism to treat both the root cause (obesity) and the serious consequences (liver fibrosis) of MASH.

Vision statement

The company's articulated vision centers on the therapeutic potential of its lead candidate, aiming for a market-disrupting position in a highly competitive sector. They want to be the best-in-class option.

• Achieve the vision of pemvidutide becoming the treatment of choice in liver and cardiometabolic diseases.
• Position pemvidutide as the best-in-class therapeutic candidate for MASH by combining MASH resolution and clinically meaningful weight loss at early time points.
• Reinforce the broad therapeutic utility of their drug across multiple indications.

If you want to understand the investor sentiment around this vision, you should read Exploring Altimmune, Inc. (ALT) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

Given Company slogan/tagline

Altimmune does not publicly use a formal, consumer-facing slogan or tagline, which is common for clinical-stage biotechs whose focus is entirely on scientific validation, not marketing. Their identity is best summarized by their core activity.

• Identity: Late clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel peptide-based therapeutics.
• Key Focus: Pemvidutide: A GLP-1/glucagon dual receptor agonist.

Altimmune, Inc. (ALT) How It Works

Altimmune, Inc. operates as a late clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, meaning its core work is the costly, high-risk process of developing novel peptide-based therapeutics-drugs-for liver and cardiometabolic diseases. The company's value creation is entirely focused on advancing its lead product, pemvidutide, through rigorous clinical trials to gain regulatory approval and eventually commercialize it.

Given Company's Product/Service Portfolio

Given Company's Operational Framework

The company's operational framework is that of a lean, development-focused biotech, not a commercial one, which means its primary expenditure is on research and development (R&D). For the third quarter of 2025 (Q3 2025), R&D expenses were $15.0 million, showing where the money is defintely going.

The entire operation centers on managing and executing complex, multi-site clinical trials for pemvidutide, which is the only asset in the clinical pipeline. This involves:

• Clinical Trial Execution: Running the IMPACT Phase 2b trial for MASH, with a key 48-week data readout expected in Q4 2025, and the ongoing Phase 2 trials for AUD and ALD.
• Regulatory Milestones: Preparing for the crucial End-of-Phase 2 meeting with the FDA in Q4 2025 to align on the Phase 3 MASH trial design.
• Cash Management: Maintaining a strong cash position to fund the burn rate, reporting $210.8 million in cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments as of September 30, 2025.

You can see the Exploring Altimmune, Inc. (ALT) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why? to understand the capital-intensive nature of this model. The company generates minimal revenue, reporting only $0.01 million in Q3 2025, so financing is everything right now.

Given Company's Strategic Advantages

Altimmune's market success hinges on one key differentiator: the unique mechanism of action of pemvidutide. It's a dual agonist, and that's a big deal in this competitive space.

• Balanced Dual Agonism: Pemvidutide is a balanced 1:1 glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and glucagon dual receptor agonist. The GLP-1 component drives appetite suppression and weight loss, while the glucagon component directly targets the liver to reduce fat, inflammation, and fibrosis.
• MASH Resolution with Weight Loss: The dual action has shown the potential to resolve MASH and deliver meaningful weight loss in the same treatment, a combination that could be highly competitive against therapies that focus primarily on one or the other.
• Fast Track Designations: The FDA granted Fast Track designations for pemvidutide for both MASH and AUD, which can expedite the review process and potentially accelerate time to market.
• AI-Powered Data Analysis: The company is using cutting-edge tools like the AI-based pathology tool Liver Explore™ to provide more objective and quantitative analysis of liver fibrosis reduction in its clinical trials, enhancing the quality of its data package.

The dual receptor approach is the company's core competitive edge in the crowded metabolic disease market.

Altimmune, Inc. (ALT) How It Makes Money

Altimmune, Inc. is a pre-commercial, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, so it currently generates virtually no sales revenue from marketed products; its financial engine is built entirely on funding the development of its lead drug candidate, pemvidutide, through capital raises and debt financing, with profitability hinging on a future commercial launch or a lucrative licensing deal.

You need to look past the negligible reported sales to understand this business. The company's core value is its intellectual property (IP)-specifically, the potential market success of pemvidutide, a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and glucagon dual receptor agonist targeting major markets like metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), obesity, and alcohol use disorder (AUD).

Altimmune, Inc.'s Revenue Breakdown

As a late clinical-stage company, Altimmune's reported revenue is minimal and not derived from product sales. For the third quarter of 2025, total revenue was only $5,000, which is essentially flat compared to the previous year and represents non-core activities like small grants or service fees. This is a development-stage firm, so this table reflects the current reality of its non-operational sales.

The real current financial inflow that matters is Interest Income, which totaled $2.4 million in Q3 2025, a significant amount generated from its substantial cash reserves. That's 480 times the reported revenue. The company's 'revenue' is not its business model; its cash runway is.

Business Economics

The economics of Altimmune are those of a high-risk, high-reward biotech venture, characterized by massive upfront research and development (R&D) costs with zero operating profit. The entire business is a capital-intensive race to regulatory approval.

• Pricing Strategy: The future pricing of pemvidutide is not yet set, but it will be benchmarked against multi-billion dollar GLP-1 and dual-agonist competitors like Novo Nordisk's and Eli Lilly's products, likely commanding a premium price point due to its differentiated mechanism in MASH and obesity.
• Cost Structure: Operating costs are overwhelmingly dominated by R&D expenses, which were $15.0 million in the third quarter of 2025. This covers the complex and expensive Phase 2 and upcoming Phase 3 clinical trials for pemvidutide.
• Funding Model: The company sustains itself by raising capital through equity offerings-selling stock-and securing debt facilities, like the amended Hercules facility that increased its total size to $125 million. This is the core economic engine right now.
• Profitability Trigger: True profitability is a binary event, triggered only by a successful Phase 3 trial and regulatory approval, or an acquisition by a major pharmaceutical company seeking to enter the multi-billion dollar MASH and cardiometabolic markets.

The economic fundamentals are clear: burn cash now to chase a massive future market.

Altimmune, Inc.'s Financial Performance

As of November 2025, Altimmune's financial performance reflects its clinical-stage status: a strong balance sheet for its size, but significant operating losses. This is the financial profile of a company betting its future on clinical data readouts.

• Cash Runway: The company reported cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments of $210.8 million as of September 30, 2025. This cash position is crucial, representing a 60% increase from year-end 2024, and provides the necessary runway to fund the costly pemvidutide trials.
• Net Loss: The company remains unprofitable, reporting a net loss of $19.01 million for the third quarter of 2025, which translates to a basic loss per share of ($0.21). This loss is primarily driven by R&D spending.
• Operating Expenses: Total operating expenses for Q3 2025 were approximately $20.9 million, consisting of $15.0 million in R&D and $5.9 million in general and administrative (G&A) expenses. This cost structure shows a defintely focused effort on advancing the pipeline.
• Market Valuation: With a market capitalization of approximately $362.74 million in November 2025, the company's valuation is tied directly to the perceived success of its clinical milestones, such as the upcoming 48-week IMPACT data for MASH.

For a deeper dive into the capital structure and valuation models, you should check out Breaking Down Altimmune, Inc. (ALT) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

Altimmune, Inc. (ALT) Market Position & Future Outlook

Altimmune is a high-risk, high-reward, late clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company whose near-term trajectory is entirely dependent on its lead candidate, pemvidutide. The company's position is speculative but potentially transformative, given the drug's dual-action profile in the massive, underserved markets of MASH and obesity.

You can dig deeper into the company's financial stability and capital runway here: Breaking Down Altimmune, Inc. (ALT) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

Competitive Landscape

Altimmune's pemvidutide, a GLP-1/glucagon dual receptor agonist, competes directly with two distinct groups: the established, multi-billion-dollar GLP-1 giants and the nascent, first-to-market MASH specialists. As a pre-commercial company, Altimmune holds a 0% market share, but its competitive positioning is defined by its differentiated mechanism of action.

Opportunities & Challenges

The company is sitting on a potential blockbuster asset, but its success hinges on a few binary events in late 2025. You should view the stock as an option on the 48-week data, plus the optionality of the expanded pipeline.

Industry Position

Altimmune is positioned as a high-potential, late-stage biotech challenger, not a market leader. It is a pure-play bet on the dual GLP-1/glucagon mechanism, which is different from the GLP-1/GIP dual agonists (Eli Lilly and Company) and the THR-beta agonists (Madrigal Pharmaceuticals).

• Capital Runway: The company reported a strong cash position of $210.8 million as of September 30, 2025, providing a runway to execute the near-term Phase 3 planning.
• MASH Differentiation: Pemvidutide is one of the few candidates showing both strong MASH resolution and meaningful weight loss, a combination that could appeal to payers and prescribers.
• Regulatory Hurdle: The upcoming FDA meeting is defintely critical, as the agency's stance on using non-invasive tests (NITs) for MASH endpoints could significantly impact the cost and timeline of the Phase 3 trial.
• Analyst Sentiment: The consensus FY2025 Earnings Per Share (EPS) estimate is a loss of ($1.35), reflecting the heavy R&D investment, but the stock holds a consensus Moderate Buy rating with an average price target that suggests a substantial upside if trials succeed.

Here's the quick math: Rezdiffra's Q3 2025 sales were $287.3 million, demonstrating the immediate commercial appetite for an approved MASH drug, which underscores the size of Altimmune's potential opportunity if pemvidutide is approved.