Altimmune closes the quarter with $519 million, funding pemvidutide to 2029

Altimmune, a small biotech developing the injectable drug pemvidutide, said it held $519 million in cash, equivalents and investments at the end of the second quarter of 2026. The company says that balance will fund operations through the 52-week readout of its Phase 3 trial in MASH (metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis), which is expected in 2029 ^[1][2].

Pemvidutide is a once-weekly injection that combines GLP-1 and glucagon receptor activity, a dual mechanism the company says lets it target liver fat directly through the glucagon component, on top of appetite suppression from the GLP-1 side ^[1][2]. In earlier testing the drug produced 15.6 percent average weight loss at 48 weeks, and a Phase 2b study in MASH was reported positive ^[1][2]. Based on that data, Altimmune started PERFORMA, a global registrational Phase 3 trial, on August 3, 2026, to test whether the drug improves liver fibrosis and resolves MASH ^[2].

In a separate Phase 2 trial called RECLAIM, reported July 28, 2026, pemvidutide met its primary endpoint in alcohol use disorder, with participants losing an average of 9.1 percentage points more weight than those on placebo; the company also says secondary endpoints it considers registrational were hit ^[1][2]. Altimmune has now added a third late-stage effort, saying it completed enrollment in RESTORE, a Phase 2 trial in alcohol-associated liver disease. Specific enrollment numbers and trial design for RESTORE were not detailed in the sources reviewed for this article.

The $519 million figure is down slightly from the roughly $535 million Altimmune held on April 30, 2026, a total that included a $225 million capital raise completed that month ^[1][2]. For context, market trackers estimated Altimmune's entire stock market value in July 2026 at roughly $440 million to $590 million ^[1][2] — meaning the company's cash reserves are close to or larger than its full market capitalization, a point analysts flag as notable for a small, speculative biotech heading into a binary late-stage trial ^[1][2].

Why it matters for patients

Pemvidutide is not approved for any use in the United States. People interested in it should understand it remains in clinical trials, and its most advanced program — the MASH Phase 3 — is not expected to produce results until 2029 ^[2]. That means patients with MASH or alcohol-associated liver disease do not have access to pemvidutide outside of a clinical trial, and even a successful trial would still be followed by an FDA review before any approval.

For people currently using approved GLP-1 medicines such as semaglutide (Ozempic/Wegovy/Rybelsus) or tirzepatide (Mounjaro/Zepbound) for obesity or related conditions, this development does not change what is available today. It signals that a different combination — a GLP-1/glucagon dual agonist aimed partly at liver fat and now also being tested in alcohol-related conditions — is moving through the same multi-year testing process required of all new obesity and liver drugs. Analysts describe the space pemvidutide competes in as "small, speculative" and note that the field is crowded, with a binary Phase 3 readout still ahead, meaning a disappointing trial result could significantly affect the company's ability to keep developing the drug ^[1][2].

What happens next

The PERFORMA Phase 3 trial in MASH, which began August 3, 2026, is expected to report its 52-week results in 2029 ^[2]. Enrollment in the RESTORE trial in alcohol-associated liver disease has been completed, though the sources reviewed did not give a specific readout date. The RECLAIM alcohol use disorder data, reported July 28, 2026, met its endpoints, but no date for a follow-on trial in that indication was given in the sources ^[1][2].