ORPH.L Regulatory News (ORPH)

Venn Life Sciences Holdings Plc

("Venn" or the "Company" or the "Group")

€2.4m contract for pan-European coronary study

Venn Life Sciences (AIM: VENN), a growing Clinical Research Organisation (CRO) providing clinical trial management services and resourcing solutions to pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device clients, announces the signing of a contract worth over €2.4 million to conduct a major international study into an innovative new heart treatment.

Working alongside Professor Keith Oldroyd of the Golden Jubilee National Hospital in Scotland, the study aims to determine whether the use of Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) with a new stent with a bio-absorbable coating could be used as an effective method for treating patients with disease in the left-main coronary artery in their heart.

Valued at over €2.4 million, the study will be conducted in five European countries over a two year period with Prof Oldroyd and Prof Robert-Jan van Guens from the prestigious Erasmus University in Rotterdam, Holland, serving as the co-principal investigators. Venn has unique experience in the management of investigator initiated studies, having previously worked with investigators on various trials throughout Europe.

Speaking about the contract, Venn CEO, Tony Richardson stated: "We are delighted to be part of this important study as it is an area of the business that we have focused on expanding in recent years. Our recent expansions and service additions allow us to supply the complete envelope of services for these studies whether they are single site or multi-country site studies. We are looking forward to working with the Professor Oldroyd and Prof Robert-Jan van Guens and contributing to advancing the research in such an important area.

"This contract follows on from the mulit-country study signed up in May this year worth over €3m and demonstrates that our wider European footprint and expanded skill base allows us to target higher value studies such as these."

Discussing the trial, Professor Keith Oldroyd, one of the Principal Investigators, Consultant Cardiologist and Director of Research at the Golden Jubilee said: "The developments in PCI and stenting over the past 20 years have been absolutely incredible. The new stent we will be using in this trial has an innovative coating, which delivers a drug to prevent re-narrowing and over a period of three to four months, dissolves into two harmless components (carbon dioxide and water). This should dramatically improve the healing of the artery and will reduce the length of time a patient has to rely on blood thinning medication." 

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About Venn Life Sciences Limited: www.vennlifesciences.com

Venn Life Sciences is a Clinical Research Organisation providing clinical trial management and resourcing solutions to pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device organisations. With dedicated operations in France, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK and Ireland and Europe wide representation - Venn specialises in rapid deployment and management of multisite projects. Venn recently established an innovation division - InnoVenn - focused primarily on breakthrough development opportunities in Skin Science.

About the Golden Jubilee Hospital: www.nhsgoldenjubilee.co.uk / www.beardmorehealthscience.com 

A national resource for Scotland, the Golden Jubilee National Hospital is managed by the National Waiting Times Centre Board, which also manages the Beardmore Hotel and Conference Centre and the Beardmore Centre for Health Science. The Golden Jubilee is home to regional and national heart and lung services, is a major centre for orthopaedics, and is the flagship hospital for reducing waiting times in key elective specialties.