On Jul. 13, 2020, Altimmune announced positive results from the preclinical studies of its intranasal COVID-19 vaccine candidate, AdCOVID. The studies, which were conducted in collaboration with the University of Alabama at Birmingham, showed strong serum neutralizing activity and potent mucosal immunity in the respiratory tract.

The induction of IgA antibody in the respiratory tract may be necessary to block both infection and transmission of the virus to prevent further spread of COVID-19. Based on these findings the Company planned to begin manufacturing of AdCOVID and advance the vaccine candidate to a Phase 1 safety and immunogenicity study in Q4 of 2020.