Improving the Lives of People with Chronic Lung Diseases, Starting with COPD
Our goal:
Transform the COPD treatment paradigm by directly targeting rhinovirus—the most leading, yet underappreciated cause of acute respiratory exacerbations—rather than simply managing the downstream consequences like chronic inflammation, low oxygen levels and severe cardiac complications that can require hospitalizations or even lead to death.
Altesa BioSciences is advancing vapendavir, a first-in-class orally administered medicine currently in clinical development.
In a recent clinical trial evaluating patients with Stage 2 COPD and rhinovirus infection, vapendavir improved symptoms, reduced illness duration and viral load, and maintained small airway function—outcomes recognized by regulators as pivotal for chronic lung disease therapies.
Altesa is an innovative, clinical-stage pharmaceutical company dedicated to improving the lives of people with chronic lung diseases, including COPD and asthma, from the threat of severe viral respiratory infections. Our primary focus is rhinovirus, the most common respiratory virus on the planet and the main cause of serious, potentially life-threatening exacerbations.
COPD currently affects 18.6 million Americans and is the third leading cause of death globally, robbing patients of breath, limiting daily activities, and making social interactions risky due to the threat of potentially catastrophic respiratory virus infections.
While smoking remains a major risk factor, up to 25% of US cases and as many as 40% globally are unrelated to smoking, with increasing rates of vaping expected to further drive COPD prevalence. Each year, COPD patients collectively experience an estimated 2.05 billion acute exacerbations in North America alone, and between 2025 and 2050, direct US medical costs are expected to reach $6.24 trillion.
Nearly 50% of COPD exacerbations are triggered by rhinovirus, or the common cold. When a person with COPD “catches a cold,” rhinovirus can drive them into a life-threatening medical crisis, often requiring hospitalization and accelerating long-term decline.
There is nothing “common” about the common cold for people with chronic lung disease. Our focus at Altesa BioSciences is to continue developing a safe and effective oral medicine to treat rhinovirus infections in COPD and other chronic lung diseases at the outset—before the virus elicits acute attacks with devastating consequences.
The Right People
When a person with COPD is infected by rhinovirus, the first symptoms may seem like an ordinary cold— but for these individuals, it’s often the first sign of a potentially serious escalation.
The Right Treatment
While current medications cannot reverse the chronic lung changes of COPD, proactively stopping viral infections like rhinovirus before they escalate to acute attacks empowers patients to improve their day-to-day quality of life, avoid hospitalizations, and maintain a better quality of life.
Dr. Sebastian Johnson, Professor of Respiratory Medicine and Allergy at the National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London
My number one priority is to improve patients’ lives and empower them to live freely and fully.
To accomplish this, it seems obvious that we should identify and treat viral infections early, instead of attempting to rescue breathless patients after the fact. Killing the virus also makes more sense than requiring patients to receive monthly immune modifying injections that help a minority of patients only by lessening the body’s self-destructive response to the virus.
Brett Giroir, MD
Chief Executive Officer, Altesa BioSciences
Former US Assistant Secretary for Health and Acting FDA Commissioner
and Admiral, US Public Health Service Commissioned Corps
Vapendavir
Vapendavir targets the cause of inflammation and exacerbations – the virus itself. It has broad-spectrum activity against 97% of rhinoviruses and other respiratory enteroviruses. In over 700 clinical trial participants, including healthy volunteers, asthma patients, and people with COPD—vapendavir has demonstrated a strong safety profile and clinically meaningful benefits to date. Altesa is now advancing vapendavir into multinational, late-stage clinical trials, including the pivotal Phase 2b CARDINAL study in COPD patients, launching in the US and UK in Q2 2026.
Altesa holds the exclusive global rights to develop, manufacture, and commercialize vapendavir.