Open Orphan subsidiary signs contract to make Covid-19 challenge virus

Specialist pharmaceutical services contract research organisation Open Orphan announced on Monday that its subsidiary hVIVO has signed a contract with Imperial College London, as part of a Wellcome Trust-funded initiative to manufacture a SARS-CoV-2 challenge virus.

The AIM-traded firm said the contract was worth £3m, and under this agreement hVIVO would develop a new SARS-CoV-2 challenge virus based on new emerging variants of the virus, which would be used in future hVIVO-run human challenge trials to allow direct comparisons of vaccines or antivirals against different Covid-19 variants.

It said the manufacturing project would begin immediately, and was expected to complete before the end of 2021.

Following completion of the manufacturing project, there was the potential for a follow-on characterisation study for the virus to be conducted by hVIVO in partnership with Imperial and Wellcome.

Open Orphan said it had successfully initiated the development of a number of coronavirus challenge viruses.

The company had already developed the initial circulating Covid-19, or SARS-CoV-2, virus as part of the Human Challenge Programme in partnership with the UK government.

“This contract is a great example of how our unique abilities to provide an all encompassing solution for human challenge trials sets us apart,” said executive chairman Cathal Friel.

“We are able to support our customers from the very beginning of the process by developing challenge study models, including the manufacture of the challenge virus, as well as taking responsibility for full trial recruitment and using our London-based quarantine facilities to run the human challenge studies themselves.”

At 0913 BST, shares in Open Orphan were down 1.31% at 37.26p.