Total Market Solutions6 Jul 2021 17:17
Open Orphan
Open Orphan (AIM:ORPH), a contract research organization (CRO), for the testing of vaccines and antivirals, made waves this October with the award of a contract with the UK Government to conduct the world’s first Covid-19 ‘challenge study’.
The study, to be conducted by the company’s hVIVO subsidiary, will see, to discover the minimum amount of the virus it takes to develop Covid-19, and thereby help calibrate the future development of the vaccine. The first stage of this project will explore the feasibility of exposing healthy volunteers to the virus: if the research is approved by regulators it will begin early next year with results expected by May. The contract, which has already commenced, could be worth some £10m to hVIVO depending upon the final number of volunteers included in the characterisation study. hVIVO also offers a full range of COVID-19 tests through its COVID Clear programme.
The contract offers the prospect of a healthy return on Open Orphan’s investment in hVIVO, which it acquired for £13m in equity in January. The company’s interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2020 stated a cash balance of £14.7m following two successful placings in January and May. An EBITDA loss of £4.1m for H1 2020 was recorded, but the company is targeting near-term profitability in light of its strong pipeline of contracted work. It should be noted Open Orphan has another major subsidiary, Venn Life Sciences, offering drug development consultancy, clinical trial design and execution. Venn’s capabilities include CMC, Non-Clinical, Clinical Development and Regulatory Affairs.
Unsurprisingly Open Orphan’s share price has gathered spectacular momentum this year, rising from less than 5p in January to nearly 25p today. Continued uncertainty regarding the UK’s emergence from the pandemic means Open Orphan’s strong run may continue for some time yet.
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