ORPH.L Regulatory News (ORPH)

11 May 2020 

Open Orphan plc

("Open Orphan" or the "Company")

New COVID-19 Antibody Testing Partnership

Quotient Limited and hVIVO Announce Partnership to Support Wide-Spread COVID-19 Antibody Testing in the UK

Open Orphan plc (ORPH) the rapidly growing specialist CRO pharmaceutical services company which has a focus on orphan drugs and is the world leader in the testing of vaccines and antivirals using human challenge study models, is pleased to announce that Quotient has entered into an exclusive contract with hVIVO to support COVID-19 antibody testing in the UK.

The MosaiQ™ by Quotient system and MosaiQ COVID-19 Antibody Microarray will be used by hVIVO to screen for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies (COVID-19). The MosaiQ COVID-19 Antibody Microarray was CE marked (certified to meet EU requirements) as of 01 May 2020 based on testing that demonstrated 100% sensitivity (ability to detect COVID-19 antibodies) and 99.8% specificity (ability to rule out the presence of COVID-19 antibodies). The test is designed as a serological disease screen specific to COVID-19. It detects the IgG and IgM antibodies that humans develop when infected by  SARS-CoV-2.

Quotient is a Nasdaq listed, commercial-stage diagnostics company delivering diagnostic solutions. MosaiQ is Quotient's proprietary multiplex microarray technology, offering the world's first fully automated, consolidated testing platform, allowing for multiple tests across different modalities.

Cathal Friel, Executive Chairman of Open Orphan, said:

"We are delighted to exclusively partner with Quotient Limited to bring fast and accurate COVID-19 antibody testing to the UK. Open Orphan plc, via our subsidiary hVIVO, has industry leading scientific and laboratory capability and the MosaiQ™ system's best in class COVID-19 antibody testing performance makes the system a natural addition to our state-of-the-art virology laboratory in London. There is a clear demand for COVID-19 antibody testing and we will be making testing available both as a standalone offering and will also utilize the testing capability to screen volunteers for our industry leading range of human challenge studies to ensure no disruption to our clients."

Franz Walt, Chief Executive Officer of Quotient, said:

"This collaboration marks a major milestone for our company, and we are proud to collaborate with an industry leader like hVIVO. Quotient has developed what we believe is a gold standard antibody microarray to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic. This collaboration is uniquely positioned to leverage our combined expertise, and helps address the large need for antibody testing in the U.K. and beyond." said Franz Walt, Chief Executive Officer of Quotient.

ENDS

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Notes to Editors - Open Orphan:

Open Orphan is a rapidly growing specialist CRO pharmaceutical services company which has a focus on orphan drugs and is a world leader in the provision of virology and vaccine challenge study services and viral laboratory services. It has Europe's only 24-bedroom quarantine clinic with onsite virology lab in Queen Mary's Hospital London. hVIVO supports product development for customers developing antivirals, vaccines and respiratory therapeutics, all particularly relevant and topical in the environment of heightened awareness of Covid-19 in 2020. The Company also has a leading portfolio of 8 viral challenge study models which are: 2 FLU, 2 RSV, 1 HRV, 1 Asthma, 1 cough and 1 COPD viral challenge models. As announced in early March, Open Orphan is rapidly advancing a Coronavirus challenge study model and expects to be very active with many companies in the development of a Covid-19 vaccine. No other company in the world has such a portfolio, with only two competitors globally having 1 challenge study model each. 

Open Orphan comprises of two commercial specialist CRO services businesses (Venn and hVIVO) and is developing an early stage orphan drug genomics data platform business. This platform captures valuable genetic data from patient populations with specific diseases with designated orphan drug status and incorporating AI tools. In June 2019, Open Orphan acquired AIM-listed Venn Life Sciences Holdings plc in a reverse take-over and in January 2020 it completed the merger with hVIVO plc. Venn, as an integrated drug development consultancy, offers CMC (chemistry, manufacturing and controls), preclinical, Phase I & II clinical trials design and execution. The merger with hVIVO created a European full pharma services company broadening the Company's customer base and with complementary specialist CRO services, widened the range of the Company's service offerings.

Notes to Editors - Quotient Limited:

Building on 30 years of experience in transfusion diagnostics, Quotient is a commercial-stage diagnostics company committed to delivering solutions that reshape the way diagnostics is practiced. MosaiQ, Quotient's proprietary multiplex microarray technology, offers the world's first fully automated, consolidated testing platform, allowing for multiple tests across different modalities. MosaiQ is designed to be a game-changing solution, which Quotient believes will increase efficiencies, improve clinical practice, deliver significant workflow improvements, and operational cost savings to laboratories around the world. Quotient's operations are based in Eysins, Switzerland, Edinburgh, Scotland and Newtown, Pennsylvania.

The Quotient logo and MosaiQ™ are registered trademarks or trademarks of Quotient Limited and its subsidiaries in various jurisdictions.