hVIVO’s involvement in the approval of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer’s new vaccine Abrysvo should support interest in its services, according to Liberum.

On Wednesday, the US Food & Drug Administration approved Pfizer’s respiratory syncytial virus vaccine for older adults, Abrysvo, and human challenge study data produced by hVIVO was instrumental in its approval.

It also played an essential role in earning the vaccine FDA breakthrough therapy designation that helped accelerate clinical development and approval by around 12 months, and meant that Pfizer’s drug has been approved within a month of GSK’s rival vaccine.

Pfizer and GSK’s RSV vaccines are set to go head-to-head, with both set to launch in the third quarter, ahead of the next RSV season.

Liberum thinks the approval serves as a milestone for the human challenge study field, and said ‘we should see new RSV vaccine shots enter development and catalyse wider interest in other infectious diseases.’

The broker explained that ‘hVIVO is the only commercial provider of human challenge studies in RSV and this milestone supports interest in hVIVO’s services.’

Liberum believes hVIVO is its 2023 small- and mid-cap healthcare best idea and keeps a ’buy’ rating and unchanged target price of 26.30 pence.

Shares in hVIVO closed 3.2% lower at 15.25 pence in London on Friday.

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