Altesa BioSciences has closed an oversubscribed $75m Series B funding round to advance the clinical development of its antiviral, vapendavir.
With funding from lead investor Forbion, as well as contributions from Sanofi and other venture capitalists, Altesa will progress vapendavir to Phase IIb trials in rhinovirus, a disease widely known as the common cold.
Under the co-leadership of former US assistant health secretary, Brett Giroir and ex-GSK chief medical officer (CMO), Dr Katharine Knobil, the biotech will initiate the multinational CARDINAL study, which aims to enrol 900 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) to evaluate how treatment with vapendavir may impact the severity of rhinoviral-driven exacerbations within the disease. The trial is expected to begin in Q2 2026.
According to Altesa, vapendavir could have the potential to prevent “up to 50% of COPD exacerbations” by stopping the common cold from infecting and reproducing within a host’s cells. The American Lung Association (ALA) currently cites respiratory diseases like cold and flu as the most common cause of exacerbations in COPD.
Alongside its potential to reduce exacerbations, Knobil hopes that vapendavir can improve symptoms and maintain patient quality of life, while hastening the resolution of illness and potentially allowing patients to avoid advanced medical intervention.
Vapedavir will head to Phase IIb with positive early-stage data under its belt, as the antiviral was found to diminish illness duration, inflammatory markers and both upper and lower airways symptoms in the Phase I Challenge study (NCT05962645).
COPD market takes a breath of fresh air
Until recently, the COPD market was dominated by inhaled small molecule therapies, with combination options like GSK’s Telegy Ellipta (fluticasone furoate, umeclidinium bromide and vilanterol trifenatate) securing a strong share of the indication’s sales.
However, the COPD approval of Sanofi and Regeneron’s biologic, Dupixent (dupilumab) as an add-on maintenance therapy marked the start of a biologics revolution – with GSK’s Nucala (mepolizumab) following in Dupixent’s footsteps in May 2025 and several candidates making their way through clinical trials.
According to GlobalData’s Pharmaceutical Intelligence Center, there are currently 15 ongoing clinical trials evaluating eight biologics in COPD.
GlobalData, the parent company of Pharmaceutical Technology, forecasts that the COPD market will be worth $30.2bn in 2033.
