Altimmune bags NASH candidate with Spitfire acquisition

Maryland, USA-based biotech Altimmune (Nasdaq: ALT) has entered into an agreement to acquire Spitfire Pharma in a cash and stock deal worth up to $93 million.

The buy brings with it Spitfire’s product candidate SP-1373 (to be renamed ALT-801), a potent GLP-1/Glucagon receptor co-agonist for the treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). The transaction is expected to close during July 2019, subject to customary closing conditions.

Spitfire, a portfolio company of Presidio Partners, was founded by John Nestor Jr and Velocity Pharmaceutical Development, for the sole purpose of developing the NASH drug candidate, SP-1373.