LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Specialist contract research organisation Open Orphan announced on Friday that its subsidiary hVIVO has signed a $13.4m contract with an unnamed US-based biotechnology company to test its novel antiviral candidate, using the 'hVIVO Influenza Human Challenge' study model.
The AIM-traded firm said the study was expected to start in the second half of 2022, and would be conducted at hVIVO's quarantine facilities in London.

It said it expected the majority of revenues to be recognised in 2022.

The company said it was expecting to sign an increasing number of contracts in the area, as the global pandemic highlighted the increased investment needed from governments and large pharmaceutical companies to develop effective, novel treatments for a range of infectious diseases that had the potential to cause another pandemic.

It said influenza was one such disease, with emergences of flu pandemics impossible to predict.

Symptoms of influenza could be mild or cause severe disease, or in certain cases, death, with the viral disease considered a serious global health threat with an estimated one billion cases, between three and five million severe cases, and 290,000 to 650,000 deaths each year.

Open Orphan said hVIVO had two decades of experience and expertise in safely conducting challenge studies across a range of respiratory viruses, including various strains of influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), human rhinovirus (the common cold), malaria and asthma.

In October 2020, that expanded to include the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes Covid-19 disease.

"We are delighted to announce this significant challenge study contract valued at over £10m, with a US-based biotechnology client testing its highly promising influenza antiviral candidate," said executive chairman Cathal Friel.

"This contract demonstrates the company's continued ability to convert its leading portfolio of challenge study models into substantial contracts, with signed contracts across a number of our challenge study models including RSV, asthma, hRV, and flu in the clinic next year.

"This underlines our market position as the world leader in the testing of vaccines, antivirals and respiratory products using human challenge trials."

Friel said the recent emergence of the 'Omicron' variant of Covid-19 had illustrated the threat of pandemic infectious diseases, and as a result, pharmaceutical companies were looking to address the next cohort of infectious diseases which had the potential to reach pandemic level, developing new therapeutics to help tackle them.

"Influenza is high on this list, and we expect to sign more contracts of this type as the infectious disease market grows exponentially in the coming years to be worth $250bn by 2025."

At 1113 GMT, shares in Open Orphan were up 11.21% at 20.57p.

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