REG - hVIVO PLC - £6.3m HRV contract signed with biotech client

hVIVOAnnouncement

02/01/2024 07:00

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RNS Number : 2639Y  hVIVO PLC  02 January 2024

hVIVO plc

("hVIVO" or the "Company")

 

£6.3m HRV contract signed with biotechnology client

 

Highlights

·    Study to enter hVIVO's state-of-the-art Canary Wharf quarantine
facilities in H2 2024

·    Potential to enhance value of the client's antiviral by generating
efficacy data in HRV

 

hVIVO plc (AIM & Euronext: HVO), the world leader in testing infectious
and respiratory disease products using human challenge clinical trials,
announces that it has signed a £6.3m contract with a biotechnology client to
test its antiviral candidate using the hVIVO Human Rhinovirus (HRV - common
cold virus) Human Challenge Study Model.

 

The Phase 2a randomised, double-blinded placebo-controlled human challenge
trial is planned to take place at the Company's new specialist
state-of-the-art quarantine facilities in Canary Wharf. It will evaluate the
effect of the antiviral candidate on viral load, safety, tolerability, and
prophylactic antiviral activity against HRV infection in multiple cohorts of
healthy volunteers.

 

The study is expected to commence in H2 2024, with revenue recognised in 2024
and 2025. As part of the study, hVIVO will recruit healthy volunteers via the
Company's dedicated volunteer recruitment arm, FluCamp (https://flucamp.com/)
. This biotechnology client recognises the benefit of human challenge in
quickly generating early human efficacy data, which has the potential of
significantly enhancing the value of their clinical asset.

 

Human rhinoviruses (HRV) are a group of pathogens that cause 'the common
cold', with over 150 distinct types of HRV currently known. Although one third
of HRV infections are asymptomatic, it can be potentially serious in the
elderly, immunocompromised and those with existing respiratory diseases, and
there is strong evidence of a relationship between HRV infection and more
severe symptoms of asthma and COPD.(1) To date, no antiviral has been approved
in the prevention or treatment of HRV infection.

 

Yamin 'Mo' Khan, Chief Executive Officer of hVIVO, said: "We are delighted to
be partnering with this biotech client to investigate the use of their
antiviral candidate against HRV. Our human challenge trials can provide quick
efficacy data, that has the potential to significantly enhance the value of
our clients' assets, something which is critical in the current tight biotech
investment landscape. There is renewed focus and capital available to
biopharma companies with assets targeting respiratory disease indications. Our
HRV Human Challenge Model offers our clients the opportunity to open up these
markets, given HRV's association to exacerbation of asthma and COPD."

 

Dr Andrew Catchpole, Chief Scientific Officer of hVIVO, said: "With our new
state-of-the-art facility, we are able to conduct significantly more
multi-cohort challenge trials concurrently, providing quick efficacy data to
accelerate drug development. There remains no approved antiviral to treat HRV
infections, despite their dangerous impact on large and vulnerable population
groups. I look forward to following the progress of this antiviral candidate
when it enters the clinic later this year."

 

(1) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3787546/#
(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3787546/)

 

For further information please contact:

 

 hVIVO plc                                       +44 (0) 20 7756 1300
 Yamin 'Mo' Khan, Chief Executive Officer

 Stephen Pinkerton, Chief Financial Officer

 Liberum Capital (Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker)                       +44 (0) 20 3100 2000
 Ben Cryer, Edward Mansfield, Phil Walker, Will King

 Cavendish Capital Markets Limited (Joint Broker)                          +44 (0) 20 7220 0500
 Geoff Nash, Charlie Beeson, Nigel Birks, Harriet Ward

 Davy (Euronext Growth Adviser and Joint Broker)                           +353 (0) 1 679 6363
 Anthony Farrell, Niall Gilchrist

 Walbrook PR (Financial PR & IR)                 +44 (0) 20 7933 8780 or hvivo@walbrookpr.com

 Stephanie Cuthbert / Phillip Marriage /         +44 (0) 7796 794 663 / +44 (0) 7867 984 082 /

Louis Ashe-Jepson
+44 (0) 7747 515 393

 

Notes to Editors

 

About hVIVO

 

hVIVO plc (ticker: HVO) (formerly Open Orphan plc) is a rapidly growing
specialist contract research organisation (CRO) and the world leader in
testing infectious and respiratory disease vaccines and therapeutics using
human challenge clinical trials. The Group provides end-to-end early clinical
development services to its large, established and growing repeat client base,
which includes four of the top 10 largest global biopharma companies.

 

The Group's fast-growing services business includes a unique portfolio of 11
human challenge models, with a number of new models under development, to test
a broad range of infectious and respiratory disease products. The Company has
world class challenge agent manufacturing, specialist drug development and
clinical consultancy services via its Venn Life Sciences brand, and a lab
offering via its hLAB brand, which includes virology, immunology biomarker and
molecular testing. The Group offers additional clinical field trial services
such as patient recruitment and clinical trial site services.

 

hVIVO runs challenge studies in London from its Whitechapel quarantine
clinic, its state-of-the-art QMB clinic with its highly specialised on-site
virology and immunology laboratory, and its clinic in Plumbers Row. To recruit
volunteers / patients for its studies, the Company leverages its unique
clinical trial recruitment capability via its FluCamp
(https://eur05.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flucamp.com%2F&data=05%7C01%7CCarol.Dalton%40openorphan.com%7Cfb9f1a50aaa9492d81ed08da875cca71%7C131abc777e104bbd90170559abc5d601%7C1%7C0%7C637971129881295595%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=fQdtQTHu9Bo70yRgWcZW5liNTXPYiWl9YayUA01E%2FlA%3D&reserved=0)
 volunteer screening facilities in London and Manchester.

 

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