LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Pharmaceutical services company Open Orphan has signed a contract with the UK Government that will see the firm assist in the development of a Covid-19 human challenge study model to safely speed up the development of an efficacious vaccine.
Open Orphan subsidiary hVVIO will be positioned to receive as much as £10.0m as a result of the contract, depending upon the final number of volunteers included in the characterisation study.

The AIM-listed firm added that the Government had also secured the first three slots to test vaccines using hVIVO's Covid-19 challenge study, which it expects to start in 2021, with each slot reservation being secured at a cost of £2.5m each.

Chairman Cathal Friel said: "At Open Orphan we are pleased to be working on behalf of the UK Government and in partnership with two great institutions, Imperial College London and The Royal Free Hospital.

"We look forward to working with our partners to develop a Covid-19 human challenge study model which will be used to safely accelerate the discovery of effective vaccines and antivirals against Covid-19."

As of 0945 BST, Open Orphan shares were up 2.74% at 30.0p.

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