Open Orphan (AIM:ORPH) unveiled this morning that its subsidiary, hVIVO, has inked a new major contract - worth £4 million - with a top 3 pharmaceutical firm where the group will sponsor and provide a respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) human challenge study clinical trial.
The contract marks the third RSV contract win this year for the European-focused group and its second contract win with a top global pharmaceutical firm since its previous win in June.
The study will take place in hVIVO’s London-based quarantine unit which is uniquely known as Europe’s only commercial 24-bed quarantine clinic with on-site virology laboratory.
hVIVO, which is the only company globally offering the capability to conduct an RSV human challenge study, is expected to complete the study by the end of the first quarter of 2021.
Today’s contract win adds to the growing number of milestones that Open Orphan has reached since its IPO in June 2019. The company itself has said the contract represents continued conversion of its ‘substantial pipeline and generation of significant cash flow.’
Shares in Open Orphan have traded strongly over the past six months from 4.9p in April and closed on Friday afternoon at 13.43p.
It recently signed a deal to conduct a first in human trial on a COVID-19 vaccine following a breakthrough, making hVIVO one of the few organisations in the world to publicly state that it is working on testing vaccines for efficacy using human challenge model clinical trials.
The firm said today’s contract further validates its ability to attract new business from both biotech and Big Pharma ‘as the world leader in the provision of viral challenge study clinical trials and laboratory services for antiviral, vaccine and respiratory therapeutic developers.’
“This is another exciting new contract win with a new customer for Open Orphan’s subsidiary hVIVO as we convert the substantial pipeline that is building up within the Company,” said Cathal Friel, Executive Chairman of Open Orphan.
He added, “This contract, with a top 3 global pharmaceutical company, is evidence of the high regard HIVO holds within the industry and reinforces our position as the world leader in the testing of vaccines and antivirals using human challenge clinical trials.
As a group we are focused on winning and delivering high-quality, profitable contracts and this is another example of our delivery against that strategy.”
Follow News & Updates from Open Orphan here: