hVIVO secures £6.3 million challenge contract
hVIVO PLC (AIM:HVO) Chief Scientific Officer Andrew Catchpole speaks to Steve Darling from Proactive after the specialist contract research organisation announced it has secured a £6.3 million contract with a biotechnology client for the testing of their antiviral candidate using the hVIVO Human Rhinovirus Human Challenge Study Model.
The Phase 2a clinical trial is designed as a randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled human challenge study and will be conducted at hVIVO's advanced quarantine facilities in Canary Wharf. The primary objective of this study is to assess the impact of the antiviral candidate on viral load, safety, tolerability, and prophylactic antiviral activity against Human Rhinovirus (HRV) infection in various groups of healthy volunteers.
Catchpole explained that the study is scheduled to begin in the second half of 2024, with revenue recognition spread across 2024 and 2025. As part of the study, hVIVO will recruit healthy volunteers who will be subjected to controlled HRV infection. The biotechnology client recognizes the value of human challenge studies in rapidly generating early human efficacy data, which has the potential to significantly enhance the clinical asset's overall value.
Catchpole says the contract underscores hVIVO's expertise in conducting human challenge studies and its growing role in helping pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies evaluate the effectiveness of their antiviral treatments.
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