Pharma services firm Hvivo shares jump 5% as orderbook grows

Hvivo said it expects to achieve its revenue guidance for 2023 despite industry wide delays in UK clinical trial approvals by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority (MHRA).

Irish-listed pharmaceutical services firm Hvivo, previously known known as Open Orphan, shares jumped more than 5% after it predicted a rise in revenue for the first six months.

The company suggested it is still seeing demand for its services in testing infectious and respiratory disease products using human challenge clinical trials post-covid.

In a trading update, Hvivo said it expects to post revenues of £27m (€32m) for the first half of the year, marking a 52% increase on the previous year.

The company said this growth has been driven through the delivery of a higher number of “human challenge trials” as well as continued increases in the price of contracts.

By the end of June, the company’s contract orderbook increased to £78m, up from £70m last year, an increase of 11%.

Hvivo said its pipeline of contracts “underlines the continued growth in demand for human challenge trials from the global biopharma industry”.

“Importantly, the orderbook is diversified across multiple clients, challenge agents and geographies, which provides a strong foundation for long term revenue growth,” it said.

Earlier this week, the company announced it secured a £13m contract with an existing global pharmaceutical client to develop an Influenza B (Flu B) human challenge model.

A trial is due to commence in Q4 following completion of manufacturing process.

Hvivo said it expects to achieve its revenue guidance for 2023 despite industry wide delays in UK clinical trial approvals by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority (MHRA).

“This delay in approvals has had some impact on new trials but the company is successfully working closely with both its clients and the MHRA to ensure the timely delivery of studies and has implemented a contingency plan to mitigate any potential impact,” it said.