hVIVO PLC on Monday said it has signed a £6.8 million contract with a leading Asia-Pacific pharmaceutical company, to test its respiratory synctical virus antiviral drug candidate.

hVIVO shares were up 14% trading at 19.09 pence per share on Monday morning in London.

The London-based early clinical development services provider, formerly known as Open Orphan, said the study, which will begin in the first half of 2024, will evaluate the the efficacy profile of the antiviral against RSV infection in health volunteers, recruited through hVIVO’s dedicated volunteer recruitment division FluCamp.

The phase 2a double-blinded placebo-controlled human challenge trial will be held at the company’s quarantine facilities in Whitechapel, London.

The company noted that this is its second human challenge trial contract with an Asia-Pacific client in 2023, after it identified the region as a key growth area. The company said the strength of its human challenge trial data has created growing demand from global biopharmaceutical companies looking to de-risk their development programmes.

Chief Executive Officer Yamin Khan said: ‘Our RSV challenge trial model is a tried and tested model that has been used to expedite the development of several RSV vaccine candidates, and we expect that at least one of the vaccines we have worked on will reach patients this year. This new client will benefit from our experience and expertise to impact their drug development plans.

‘One of our goals for 2023 is to attract more customers from the APAC region, and we have already seen this come to fruition with two contracts.’

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