March 13 (Reuters) - Altimmune ( ALT ) said on Thursday

that it plans to test its lead experimental obesity drug,

pemvidutide, to potentially treat alcohol use disorder and

alcohol-associated liver disease.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

Pemvidutide belongs to the same class of drugs as Novo Nordisk's

Wegovy and Ozempic and Eli Lilly's ( LLY ) Mounjaro

and Zepbound, known as GLP-1 agonists.

The popular newer diabetes and weight loss drugs are being

tested to treat several additional health conditions, such as

liver diseases, chronic kidney disease and neurological

disorders, as well as alcohol use disorder, as companies try to

move beyond their image of a "lifestyle drug".

Novo's popular Wegovy is already approved for treating a

type of heart disease, while Lilly's Zepbound is approved for

treating sleep apnea.

CONTEXT

In February, researchers reported that Novo Nordisk's

blockbuster diabetes drug, Ozempic, showed improvements in

certain measures of alcohol use disorder during a nine-week

trial.

The Danish drugmaker is also testing semaglutide - sold as

the diabetes drug Ozempic and the obesity drug Wegovy - in

thousands of patients with early-stage Alzheimer's disease, with

results expected in 2025.

WHAT'S NEXT

Altimmune plans to initiate a mid-stage trial testing

pemvidutide for alcohol use disorder in the second quarter and

another mid-stage trial testing it for alcohol-associated liver

disease in the third quarter of this year.

MARKET REACTION

Shares of the company were up 3% in aftermarket trading before

paring gains.