RE: Sunday Times28 Mar 2021 10:44
It’s in the Times Irish section:
Speculation is mounting that Open Orphan, a clinical trial company headed by Irish dealmaker Cathal Friel, will move to spin off its stake in vaccine developer Imutex via a Nasdaq listing this year.
Through its hVivo subsidiary, Open Orphan holds a 49 per cent stake in Imutex, which develops vaccines for influenza and mosquito-borne diseases.
A number of shareholder bulletin boards are predicting that Open Orphan and Seek Group, its joint venture partner at Imutex, will look to cash in on the greater interest in vaccine development from the Covid-19 pandemic.
In a recent shareholder presentation, Open Orphan said it was “optimistic” of the potential to monetise Imutex’s inoculation development assets.
It said the business was poised to hold discussions with the US Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency on its influenza vaccine, with a view to gaining insights into areas of interest for potential partners.
There has also been speculation that Open Orphan may look to monetise other non-core assets including a 63 per cent stake in Prep Biopharm, which is developing a pan-viral prophylactic. The prophylactic mimics a number of respiratory viruses to help stimulate immunity. hVivo also has a third development asset which it hopes will counter severe influenza.
The disposal of the assets in development will allow Open Orphan to focus on its core clinical trials operations: hVivo, which is conducting a number of a viral challenges studies including tests on coronavirus vaccines, and Venn Life Sciences.
Open Orphan shares are up fivefold in the past year.
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